Longing Reunion
by TheTwins1-2
Summary: Even death sometimes cannot cleanse one's soul of life's mistakes. Here on Sanctuary, Yuya knows this as old memories emerges to reopen old wounds. However, there is one person that can ease him of this burden... And her name is...! *T rated content with some M Rated Elements *Minor Genre: Humor *Minor Crossover *Fruitshipping *Sanctuary AU
1. Chapter 1

**Good evening everyone, this is the very first fan fiction I ever published. Though there is a distinct story and plot line, there are other things that can get confusing. But this is only the beginning, enjoy.**

***The cover image for this Fan Fiction is provided by Pixiv user くちばし。. Go check out the person's art after reading, its adorable. Also to the artist, thank you.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Sakaki Yuya was an entertainment duelist, one of the best in the duelist sub-district of the Capital. He always impresses the crowd with his over the top, suspenseful dueling in a way that even his father would be jealous. Yuya action duels for most of his days, but takes time to spend it with his friends, and takes a few of his free days cleaning his condo. Today was one of those days, seeing that the ungodly amount of clutter that has become his hallway closet, Yuya set his sights on taking out the trash. "Okay… Now that I am ready… Closet! Prepare to be cleaned!" Yuya yelled as he opened the closet. And then a pile of junk poured out from the door frame, burying the tomato head under the rubbish. Luckily it wasn't anything too heavy, allowing Yuya to dig himself out of the trash. "Well that was embarrassing..." Yuya grumbled as he began picking up the fallen items.

After two hour and several garbage bags later, Yuya looked at the closet with pride as now he can find things with ease. "All done, now I just wait for tonight's…" Yuya began before something hit him in the head. Falling to the floor groaning, Yuya took a look at just what hit him in the head, and it was a metal box, locked with a number lock. "Is this mine? I don't even remember having something like this… Even if I did, what was the password?" Yuya thought as he examined the box. Picking up the box, Yuya went into the bedroom and began working out how to open the thing. After using various tools he had, Yuya still could not get the box open. "Nothing's working… What could the numbers be? Maybe…" Yuya thought as he began imputing in numbers. Several inputs were made but the results were the same every time, the box would not budge. "Okay, why would I lock something away and forget about it? I should've wrote down the thing… Wait… Could it be?" Yuya grumbled before tackling the lock again.

"One… Five… Three… Eight…" Yuya mumbled, inputting the numbers into the lock. And upon the last number being inputted, the box clicked and the lid popped open. "Yes! Now let's see… " Yuya said as he began looking through the box. The first item he saw was his old goggles, and many memories came back. Orange tinted and with a blue star on the right lens, these goggles have gave a younger Yuya the confidence boost he needed during crucial moments in an action duel. "I should fix this up, clean it up a bit, and replace the elastic band. Yeah, it's too tight around my head." Yuya commented as he wrapped the goggles around his head. "Let's see what else is in here…" Yuya thought as he continued to dig through the box. He found some old candy, an old but rare Duel Monster Card, a small and interesting poster, a book, and a few photos. But when Yuya only had two more items to look at, he began to frown upon seeing the first of the two, an old ring. Yuya looked at it with sad eyes as old, bad memories resurfaced into his mind. "No, stop… There is no point in being sad over this now." Yuya thought as he threw the ring into the drawer of his bedside table.

Unfortunately the very last item Yuya looked at, another photograph, didn't make him feel any better, in fact it made him feel worse. It was back when he was fourteen years old, and it was taken when everyone of the You Show Duel School qualified for the Maiami City's Junior Youth Championship. Everyone was there, including his best friend Gongenzaka, smiling brightly at the occasion. But there was one person that Yuya was staring intently at. There was a girl in the photo where Yuya had one arm casually around, a girl with blue eyes and dark pink hair. It was then that Yuya felt more memories come back, both good and bad, forcing him to pull his old goggles down over his eyes, despite how tight it is. The goggles served another purpose to Yuya that all his friends knew about, it helped him conceal the tears that would come out of his eyes. Anytime he felt insecure, Yuya simply slide his goggles over his eyes and never removed them until he felt comfortable enough to do so.

Really this never accomplished anything. Yuya knew that and had overcame that habit, but the sight of this person had undid everything he had learned in life. When the accumulating tears in the goggles grew uncomfortable to Yuya, he removed it off his face and set it down on the bedside table. The tears stopped eventually, but the old wounds were still open and hurting. Yuya put away the items, except for the photo, the ring, and his goggles, back into the box before throwing it under his bed. As sad as he felt, Yuya quelled a bit of the pain by working to fix up his goggles and finding a frame for the photo. But after framing the photo, Yuya simply set it down, not wanting to look at it any more than he should. It was still a few hours until Yuya had to leave, so he decided to take a nap. As he rested his head and closed his eyes, images of the past played in his head. All of those images contained Yuya and that girl… Every one of his happiest and saddest experiences had her in it… But right now, she is nowhere to be found on this boundless planet… A gentle flow of tears came out of Yuya's closed eyes as his mind finally fell into a restless sleep.

The past contains the some of the best and worst memories one can have in their life. Each event changes us, shapes us into someone better or worse than before. Everything has influence over us, but nothing can change us more than our past… And the love we never pursued…

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**Did you enjoy this first chapter? If so leave a review. The next chapter will be up in the near future.**

**Now let me tell you a little bit about the world that this story and several future stories will take place on.**

**Sanctuary is a mysterious planet that exists in a solar system that is unreachable by any force. Larger than Earth, Sanctuary is a place where the kind souls of the departed gather to live however they see fit. There is 36 hours to each day, and 16 months to each year on this planet.**

**This is the first piece that I offer you. Next time I will give you another.**

**Until Then... T1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Behold! The Second Chapter! And here we meet our secondary characters for this story. This is where the "Minor Crossover" begins for this story. And while I feel like this chapter is good, I am my own worst judge. So feel free to critique it, that would be much appreciated. Also possible OOC may be present in this chapter.**

**I like to mention now that this entire fan fiction was planned prior to recent events occurring in ARC V. So even if a shocking revelation were to occur, it would not change what was planned for this fan fiction. I hope you understand.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Waking up to a call on his phone/duel disk, Yuya woke up from his empty slumber with a groan and lethargically answered the device. "Hello?" Yuya asked with an exhausted tone. "Yuya? Are you okay? You sound sick." The voice replied with a concern tone. "I'm fine, I just woke up from a long nap…" Yuya answered as he got up. "I know that feeling. Listen, I shouldn't rush you, but I called to tell you that our game is about to start." The voice said. "Thanks, I'm on my way." Yuya replied. "Just don't push yourself too hard Yuya-kun." The voice said. "I won't, thanks for calling Yugi-san." Yuya thanked before hanging up. Looking at the clock, it was already seven in the afternoon and the sun already was starting to set outside. With a sigh, Yuya quickly got changed into his favorite red t-shirt, green pants, and red sneakers. Before leaving the apartment, Yuya put on his goggles and grabbed everything he needed for his little outing. Once he locked the door, Yuya began running towards the home where the king of games resides.

After a good fifteen minutes, Yuya ran through the door and closed it behind him before stopping to catch his breath. "Did I make it?" Yuya panted as he stumbled into the living room. Within, four people around a table looked at Yuya and smiled. "No, you just made it. Yugi-san was about to deal" One of them said as Yuya took a seat at the table. Yuya once felt like he wasn't worthy to be part of the Yugioh Dueling League, and to be honest, who would? Here you are, surrounded by the best of the best, what are you compared to them? This kind of thing can really do a number on your self-confidence to be surrounded by greatness. It is only when Yuya discovered that Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma were really friendly people to be around and had their own anxieties when it comes to being overshadowed by someone else.

"So how was your nap?" Judai asked as Yugi began dealing the cards. "It was nice." Yuya lied, remembering the events before the nap. "You should try to get to sleep earlier, you'll have more energy to do things in the day." Yusei commented, as he looked at his cards. "Says the guy who works to six in the morning, seriously how do you even stay up that long?" Yuma replied. "Guys, guys, it doesn't matter about when we sleep, it's about how well we sleep. Anyway, let's get back into our game." Yugi replied. Texas hold'em is always a popular form of poker anyone can get into, thus making it the go to card game, besides Duel Monsters, for nights like this. Turns pass as the 'pot' grew larger and larger, Yuma and Judai were nervous but controlled it, Yusei continue to hold his stoic face despite the sweat rolling down his neck, and Yugi simply wore a small smile, enjoying the game despite having a not so good hand. Yuya on the other hand barely paid attention, only saying call or raise absently before going back into his thoughts.

"The reveal is right after this. And I go all in." Yugi said calmly as he pushed all of his chips into the center. "Verdammt… I fold…" Judai said before laying his cards down. "I'm not risking it. Fold…" Yusei replied, putting down his cards. "I'm not going to be out right from the beginning. I fold." Yuma said as he laid down his card. Yuya didn't respond, making the others wonder what was on his mind. "Yuya-kun, are you sure you're okay?" Yugi asked. "What? Oh, no I'm fine." Yuya answered nervously, trying to brush off the situation. "Ce est des conneries! Pardon my French, but you're obviously not okay." Judai argued. "I have to agree, you have been more quiet than normal. It's alright to tell us what's wrong." Yusei agreed. "We're all friends here, your secret is safe with us. Just give us a heads up when the story gets really, really weird. Like uncomfortable to listeners weird, I still have nightmares from Judai's last story..." Yuma added, shivering at his last statement. "Well… I found a box in my closet…" Yuya began. "So you're upset… over a box?" Judai asked before getting a look from Yusei. "Let the man continue before you ask your questions." Yusei said. "Thank you, so this box…" Yuya thanked before continuing.

So Yuya recounted his experience with the box down to the last detail, while it only made the memories in his head more vivid, the pain he felt weaker. "At the risk of bringing back more painful memories, can I ask just what happened that lead you to feel this way?" Yuma asked. "Yuma-kun, you don't ask someone to bring up something they don't want to talk about." Yugi commented with a slight glare. "No, I'll talk about it. It's better if I let it out instead of bottling it inside me. After all, I trust all of you with my secrets." Yuya replied. "If there is any point you don't want to talk about, just say so and we'll stop prying." Yusei said. "So tomato man, what's rotting you?" Judai asked.

"There was a point where my friends and I had to venture into another world to help someone. But it was nothing like we have ever seen, it was a war zone where duelists and their monsters fought for survival. After rooting out and defeating the source of all the conflict, we could finally back to our world, back to the home we always knew. But the machine that was supposed to bring us back began malfunctioning because of a power failure, and the whole place was coming down on our heads. We knew if the machine was destroyed, we would be stuck in that world forever and possibly die. But to fix the machine, someone must stay behind." Yuya began. "Then she elected to stay behind… Hiragi Yuzu sacrificed herself to send you all home." Yusei commented, slowly piecing together the story. "Yeah, her bracelet had mysterious energy flowing through it and she used it to power the machine. But the portal wouldn't have been stable enough to send any of us back unless someone operated the console the machine was attached to. So Yuzu took action and stabilized the whole portal for all of us to escape back home. I didn't want to leave her behind, but something hit me before I could say or do anything, knocking me through the portal. It wasn't until later that I found out it was the fan that she always hit me with every time I goof off. But what really got me was the last thing I heard from her…" Yuya continued before stopping to put his goggles on.

The others waited for Yuya to continue, but minutes must have passed before Yuya got the courage to continue. "Just before I fell into the portal… I heard her voice… She was apologizing… She wished me luck… Yuzu said she loved me… Time slowed down as began hearing everything she would be missing... High School, College, her first date, first kiss, everything… I don't know if it was my imagination or it was actually her saying it, but I felt guilty for not realizing sooner. But before I could say anything, I was already back home and the light to the other side was long gone… Forever cut off from someone I held close…" Yuya continued, trying not to let his tears fill his goggles. No one said anything, simply listened to the man let out his past and frustrations. "I always joked around with her liking me, and I always got hit for it. I laughed then, but after what I heard for Yuzu, I wasn't laughing. I can't begin to describe how I felt about myself after that… I was practically hurting her without realizing anything. I was too wrapped up in my own dreams and wants to not see hers... It only got worse when I realize I loved her too and I could never tell her how I felt…" Yuya continued, finally letting tears fall.

"Sorry to hear that, if it makes you feel any better, I lost friends as well… I think all of us have." Yugi replied with a comforting tone. "Because of the Numeron Code, I was able to revive all my lost friends. But I still felt the loss when they have died…" Yuma commented. "Well we all can't have instant 'make it all better' miracles like you Yuma…" Judai said simply, causing Yuma to look away with guilt. "What happened afterward?" Yusei asked, diverting the tension back into the story. "I fell into a depression… I refused to eat, could hardly sleep, and gave up dueling entirely. Then I began seeing Yuzu in every waking moment of my existence. Each day, night, and dream I have I just see her, glaring at me with wide, tired, and vengeful eyes. I actually thought about suicide regardless of everyone's efforts to get me to stand up again. But after some time, I returned to normal, or as normal as I could be. I began dueling again, I ate and slept a lot, but I still could feel her eyes watching me. I continue to live my life with this vengeful glare always at my back, it was only when I fell in love with someone that I noticed the glares were gone. So I believed it was getting better, I still felt guilty but I wasn't too bad. I graduated, got married, had a son, and became an amazing action duelist like my father. I felt that I was finally free from my sadness." Yuya continued. "Then life threw a curve ball. The marriage didn't work out and a divorce occurred." Yusei commented.

"I don't want to talk about that right now... Just know it did happen and I found myself back at square one. I managed to keep custody over my son but I never had my peace of mind again. Nothing else happened from that point on, I watched my son grow up and live a successful life while I sit around retired from the dueling world. And then I died and found myself on this world… The things I had were my deck, duel disk, and the box that contained the things in my past. I must have opened it at one point before locking it away for good, and that's about everything." Yuya finished. "I feel bad now... I was the lucky one to have a relic to change the future. But you had to face with what you have… I don't think I can show my face around here anymore…" Yuma said in a sad tone. "Don't feel bad, it was just how things turned out. Anyway I think I'm going to go home early." Yuya replied as he got up. "I think that's best. Take the time to clear your head, just call when you're ready to talk again." Yugi said. "Thanks for listening to my little sob story." Yuya thanked. "Anytime. Is there anything you want us to do?" Yusei asked. "You guys did enough. I'm sorry that I ruined the fun." Yuya apologized. "Friends with problems are more important than a game. Don't worry about ruining anything." Yuma said with reassurance

With a good night, Yuya left the scene. While he still felt uneasy, some of the pain and frustration was gone from Yuya's chest. But it wasn't enough, if only he could find the person that gave him this pain and bring her closure. Only then could Yuya be free from his guilt… Free from the pain… Free from the ghost of Hiragi Yuzu…

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**And so completes Chapter Two. I always had this Idea that when Judai grew up he would be teaching a Languages course in the Duel Academy, since he traveled the world at the end of GX. I must apologize for those who know how to speak the languages that are present in this fan fiction as it might be completely inaccurate, thanks Google Translate. This was mostly an exposition chapter that dives into the Yuya's past and what it means to this fiction. As I mentioned earlier, this chapter was good to me, but I'm not sure how others would feel about it. So please, your reviews would be appreciated and worth all the gold in the world.**

**Also here is the next piece to the world of Sanctuary...**

**While an afterlife to the good souls, there are those who still wish ill upon there brethren walking among them. These souls are not good per say, but have redeemable qualities that allowed them passage into the world. Sanctuary is not a Heaven, it is more like the Earth that we are currently living on right now.**

**Anyway, this story is still getting started, so I hope you stick around to the very end. See you next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**And so we move onto chapter three! Here the spot light is on Yuya's predecessors and their concerns for their tomato headed friend. I will take this moment to explain just what the minor crossover note is about.**

**For me, the category system is very rigid when it comes to determining the placement of fan fictions. Now don't get me wrong, it is a nice and organized system, but it has its limitations.**

**For one thing, it is hard for me to put more fan fictions that takes place on Sanctuary due to the sheer number of possible series that could appear in one story. Since Sanctuary is a world of crossovers, it would be hard to put that one story into a category that satisfies all sections. So here is my plans and structure for future stories concerning Sanctuary...**

**_Minor Crossovers_ will be marked as a regular fan fiction. While their will be references to other things in the fan fiction, it will mostly focus on the series I am writing about. If there is a series that has multiple spin-offs (i.e. Yugioh), I will most likely be placing certain characters in but as secondary characters. Thus the focus of the story remains on the series' characters while having the support of other, secondary characters. This fan fiction is one of these kinds of minor crossovers as a majority of the fan fiction focuses on Yuya and any other Arc-V Characters. While characters from the Original, GX, 5Ds, and Zexal will have some moments in the spot light.**

**_Crossovers_ will be marked as Crossovers. As always on this site, stories involving Sanctuary would be like any other crossover story with some references to other series.**

**_Grand Crossovers_ will be marked as Crossovers. However, since 3 or more series will be present, it WILL get very confusing, very quickly. As such, the first part of the category's section will be X-Overs in the Misc. Tag, thus accomodating for the massive number of participating series in this particular type of fiction. The second part of the category's section will be the title of the "main" series. For example, X-overs &amp; Yugioh.  
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**I guess that is enough rambling from me. So please, enjoy chapter three as Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma gets a moment in the lime light. Enjoy!**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma sat in Yugi's living room, contemplating on what Yuya told them that night. While they want to do something to help their friend, they do not know where to start. "If she is here, can't we call the Lord to help us? Don't you know him Yugi?" Judai suggested. "From what I remember, it is difficult to track someone without having a sample of the person's DNA. The best we could do is find her coordinates of emergence and tell Yuya she is in on the planet. The problem being that we won't know where she is now, and I don't want to bother Tsuna with our problems, he already has enough work to deal with." Yugi replied. "Other than what Yuya told us, we really have nothing to go on. Finding one girl on this vast planet is like finding a needle in a haystack, a large haystack." Yusei commented. "I feel like I'm forgetting something… Something I have seen or read a while back… What was it?" Yugi mumbled as he began thinking. "I have that same feeling… Where did I see her name before?" Yusei replied, trying to answer his own question. "Is there nothing we can do!? Damn it! I wish we had a sign or something!" Yuma yelled in frustration before hitting the table and the remote for the TV.

The television turned on and a news program began playing. "And for our final story of the night. Yuzu Hiragi, the Heavenly Diva, is making her way to the Capital as the final stop for her tour of performances." The anchor woman said as an image of a beautiful, pink haired woman appeared on the corner of the screen. The four looked at each other before they crowded around the television to hear more of the story. "Unknown at first, Ms. Hiragi lived simply in the kingdom of Vesperia until her wonderous voice was recognized by the BW Talent Agency. And it was after her opening performance for The Clash at Demonhead that her name became known to Sanctuary. And while all of her songs is an odd mixture of modern and classical, Ms. Hiragi's popularity continued to soar as she continued to sing for audiences all over the planet. Here are some comments from attendees and popular band such as Area 11." The anchor woman continued before it began playing some recorded comments. These recordings contained people who were either calm, collected and made clear and concise statements. Or those who screamed incoherently until they pass out from excitement. "And there you have it. Though her tour has yet to show her in the capital, tickets for the performance are being reserved left and right, most likely to be sold out before morning. If you have a chance, make your reservation and let Yuzu Hiragi change your world. This has been Lisa Lavender of the Sanctuary News Network, thank you for watching." The anchor woman finished as Yugi turned off the TV.

Without a second thought, the four immediately left the house with one clear objective, get Yuya to that concert. "Come on! Let's go!" Yuma shouted as he began starting the engine of his motorcycle. "Yugi, you're with me! Judai, you're with Yuma!" Yusei yelled as his D-Wheel sprang to life. "How did I not remember this? I saw Yuzu-san's name in the paper once." Yugi commented as he caught Yusei's spare helmet. "How come Yuya didn't realize this?" Yuma asked as Judai sat behind him. "He doesn't watch or read news like Yugi or Yusei. He's probably selective, like you and me." Judai answered as the two pairs began to ride down the road at top speed. "Then how come Yuzu-san didn't come find Yuya-kun? He is all over the papers when he wins a really amazing duel!?" Yugi asked loudly. "She's not doing it on purpose! The girl is afraid of what Yuya might say! She forced a sacrifice on Yuya, betraying the protective nature that he has! And it is because of that fear that she can't face Yuya to talk about it!" Yusei explained. "Then we have to fix that! Where are we going exactly!?" Judai asked. "To the city's biggest concert hall! The Nexus Theatre!" Yusei replied. "Then let's fly! Kattobingu daze, ore!" Yuma shouted as he and Yusei accelerated beyond legal speeds.

Upon arriving at the theatre, the four noticed that there is in fact a mob of people in front of the ticket booth. "You know in perfect hind sight, we should have just ordered the ticket online…" Yugi said nervously, gazing at the sight. "The site might be overloaded, hence the amount of people here. We simply need to get on line and wait." Yusei said. "They might run out of tickets way before we're even close! We need a plan! Or another miracle!" Yuma replied. The four waited for a few seconds to see if anything would turn up, but alas nothing happened. "I don't think the universe gives those away like candy..." Yugi commented. "Quiet! We only have one ticket left and seeing that you all will tear the person who gets it apart, I have a proposition!" The manger yelled into a megaphone, quieting the crowd. "Seriously, we need to bring you around everywhere. Two strokes of luck in a single night, even I don't get that lucky." Judai whispered to Yuma. "You accidently got half a dozen burritos yesterday, ate them all, and found the giant lucky gold bean, winning you all the free burritos you want for a year!" Yuma yelled softly. "Then we'll be twice as lucky!" Judai replied. "Quiet, the manager is going to say what the proposition is." Yusei said as he silenced the two.

"Tomorrow we will host a tournament right here at the theatre. The winner of this event will win the last ticket for Yuzu Hiragi's concert. All participants will receive a number for tomorrow's competition, and we will decide how it will be broken up. In this tournament, you will all be using the popular card game Duel Monsters to settle this dispute. I expect you all to play fairly and honestly. That is all, come up in an orderly fashion and get your number." The manager said as the crowd began coming together into a neat line. "Okay… The other two things were just coincidences. This is a real stroke of luck…" Judai commented. "Let's get our numbers. If all of us gets to the semi-finals, we have accomplished our mission." Yusei said as the four went to the back of the line. Someone must have noticed the four and began spreading the word, causing others ahead in the line to leave. "We should have expected this…" Yugi mumbled nervously. "Well, the good news is that there will be less people to face." Judai said optimistically. "The bad news is that the remainder might actually be a challenge for us." Yusei said with a small frown. "Whatever the challenge is, we'll just have to overcome it! For Yuya!" Yuma yelled with zeal. "For Yuya!" The other three yelled.

There is a total of sixty four people in this tournament, four being Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma. With their minds focused on getting Yuya to his long lost friend, the four cannot afford to lose this chance. With that said, they steel themselves for whomever they have to challenge, hoping that the next day will be in their favor.

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**And that is Chapter Three. I had a lot of fun creating this chapter as I referenced several terms and names from other series and things I like just cause I could. But like before, I can't tell if this chapter is good or not so your reviews are much needed. Also I do not know how the music industry works so pardon my lack of realism in this kind of situation. But hey, if you guys don't mind than that's breath of relief for me.**

**Here is the next piece to Sanctuary...**

**All sorts of souls arrive onto this mysterious planet, populating the world with all sorts of fantastic life forms. They could be human, machine, anthropomorphic beings, aliens, and so on. You name it, and it is most likely on this planet. And though Sanctuary is like Earth in everything but size, all life can comfortably live there as they see fit. This makes Sanctuary a world where anyone can search for a new beginning... Or even find their happy ending...**

**That is all. Leave some reviews about the chapter concerning it's quality. And don't forget to make some comments concerning the structure mentioned in the beginning, it would certainly help write future stories involving Sanctuary. Anyway, I trapped you here long enough so... I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and will eagerly wait for the next.**

**Until then... T1**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here we go, Chapter four! This continues on from the last chapter where the four enters an impromptu tournament for the ticket to Yuzu's concert. I will not be focusing on the duels that occur so I will only show a glimpse into what their final action was during that battle.**

**Also when I list their life points at the end, it is slowly decreasing until it is lower than 1000 but higher than zero. This shows some form of progression from the tournament. And though the four are pros at dueling, they still manage to lose some life to their opponents due to the fact they are trying to fight tooth and nail for the prize.**

**But that is enough rambling from me, please enjoy this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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It was morning and the four began making their way back to The Nexus Theatre for the tournament. "Are you all ready?" Yugi asked. "Of course, revised my deck four times and thought of every possible thing that can go wrong." Judai replied. "Our deck is perfect the way it is. Why do we need to look over it?" Yuma asked. "Careful Yuma, arrogance tends to lead to defeat." Yusei answered with a serious tone. "I was just joking. I looked over my deck several times before I went to sleep, it's ready for anything. You really think I would risk this mission?" Yuma replied. "You have been known to make… rash decisions at times..." Yugi replied. "Look, you will all see a different side of me today. If I'm dueling for the sake of my friends… I become a dueling genius." Yuma said. "We'll see about that buddy. Anyway, who wants some food before we hit the scene, it'll be on me." Judai replied. "Free burritos?" Yugi asked. "Naturally." Judai answered. "Sure, but let's hurry." Yusei said as the four quickly began heading to their destination.

Upon arriving at the theatre, the four went inside and began waiting for their match to come around. And when it came around, the marathon began, the following is the final blow of each of those matches.

"I make a direct attack with Elemental Hero Sparkman! Spark Flash!" Judai yelled as his monster zapped the last of his opponent's life points away. "Gotcha! That was fun duel!" Judai said as he did his signature salute. (Judai's Life Points in the end: 3000)

"Speed Warrior attacks Master and Beast! During the battle phase Speed Warrior's attack doubles until the end of the battle phase! Go! Sonic Edge!" Yusei yelled as his monster destroyed the opposition, giving Yusei the win. "Alright, who's next…?" Yusei thought. (Yusei's Life Points in the end: 2400)

"I activate Gagaga Magician's effect, I can change its level from one to eight. Gagaga Magician's level is one! Next I activate Baby Tiragon's effect, by using one overlay, I can allow one level one monster to make a direct attack. I choose the now level one Gagaga Magician! Go! Gagaga Magic!" Yuma shouted as his monster brought him victory. "That was pretty tough, but I'm not going to stop." Yuma thought. (Yuma's Life Points in the end: 1200)

"I activate the magic card Black Twin Burst! If Black Magician and Black Magician Girl are on my field, the attack of Dark Magician gains the attack of Black Magician Girl until the end of the turn! Black Magician! Attack Metal Armored Bug! Black Twin Burst!" Yugi yelled as a dark explosion sealed his victory. "One more until the semi-finals… Things are going to be tricky…" Yugi thought, leaving the stage. (Yugi's Life Points at the End: 400)

Outside… "Cazzo, questo sta diventando fastidioso." Judai said in Italian. "What?" Yuma asked looking at the man. "I said this is getting annoying in Italian." Judai explained. "We only have one more match to go through before the semi-finals. If we can make it there, then our mission is complete." Yugi replied before his stomach grumbled. "Um... You want to go get something to eat?" Judai asked, feeling his own stomach grumble. "Our match might come up while we're gone, it's best if we don't leave." Yusei replied, trying to ignore his growling stomach. "I got just the thing!" Yuma said as he remember something. Yuma reached inside his vest and pulled out something wrapped in a cloth. "Duel meals! Kotori made me two more in case I get extra hungry during the day. We can each have one!" Yuma said as he unwrapped the cloth, revealing four rice balls. "That woman is a God send, and really good cook." Judai said as he took one. "Remind me to thank her when I get the chance." Yugi commented as he took one. "As much as I don't want to, I need my head to not focus on my stomach." Yusei said as he took one. "For Yuya!" Yuma said as he raised his rice ball into the air. "For Yuya!" The other three repeated before they all took a bite of their meal.

Later that Afternoon...

"Another successful duel..." Yuya thought as he entered his condo. Putting away everything he received from his manager, Yuya saw the old photo and his expression softened. "Yuzu, where ever you are, I'm making people smile like you wanted me to... I hope you're smiling too..." Yuya whispered before setting down the framed photo. Yuya then went onto his computer and began checking any messages he might have missed while away. There was four in particular that caught his attention, each one being from his fellow duelists of the Yugioh Dueling League. "They have a gift for me? Could be a prank... I have not forgiven Judai for the elaborate tomato pelting trap... But Yusei also sent the same email, so it can't be a plot to humiliate me..." Yuya thought.

So against that nagging voice in the back of his head, Yuya ventured to the location disclosed in the email, which was the League's Head Quarters (Which is basically the second floor of the Mutou Arcade and Game Store). After a good twenty minutes of walking, Yuya found himself in the lounge of the building and saw Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma sitting down, all beat up and exhausted. "What happened to you guys?" Yuya asked as he walked up to the four. "We were in a tournament." Judai answered. "Did you guys actually have a problem dealing with the competition?" Yuya asked. "You don't know the half of it..." Yusei replied. "Anyway, you guys have something to give me?" Yuya questioned, going back to the reason he showed up. "Right, take this." Yuma said as he gave Yuya the ticket. "A ticket? For what exactly?" Yuya asked, completely clueless. "After what you told us yesterday, we began thinking of ways to help you with this problem. And we found her, Hiragi Yuzu. That ticket is the key to seeing her." Yugi replied.

Yuya looked at the four in disbelief, then he stared at the ticket in his hand. "How did you find her?" Yuya asked. "It was more luck than anything else. We happen to turn on the TV to see a news story about the girl, she is going to have a concert here in the Capital in about two weeks. So we rushed to the Nexus Theatre to get you a ticket. There was a lot of people there and we wouldn't have been able to get close if it wasn't for the manager didn't show up with a proposition." Yugi began, retelling the entire experience. "So we had to go through a tournament today with the prize being the ticket. It was long, tedious, but fun. You would be surprised how many times we were pushed to the corner, but we came out on top." Judai continued. "When all four of us made it to the semi-finals, we relaxed knowing our goal was accomplished. However that did not stop us from going all out against each other." Yusei continued. "Then Yugi won the whole bout and got the ticket. One hell of a story right?" Yuma finished.

Yuya didn't know how to feel right then and there, but he felt grateful for having friends that looked after him. "Thank you for telling me this! But I need to go!" Yuya thanked, standing up and got ready to run. "Hold it right there Romeo. We know what you're thinking, but the performance isn't until two weeks later." Judai said as he grabbed Yuya. "I can't wait that long! I need to see her now!" Yuya shouted, struggling to free himself from Judai's grasp. "First of all, you don't know where she is right now. Second, even if you did, you will most likely get stopped and detained by security. And third, our efforts are just going to go to waste if you just jump the gun. It will just be easier to wait for the day to come." Yusei explained. With that reasoning, Yuya stopped trying to run and sat back down on his chair. "Okay, you convinced me... But what do I do?" Yuya asked. "Just start preparing yourself for the performance. Also you should check the news more often, it will save you some trouble." Yuma replied. "I'll do that, you guys have my thanks. I won't let your efforts go to waste." Yuya said as he walked out.

With that said, Yuya began steeling himself for his reunion with his long lost friend. And hopefully bring closure to the relationship that he shares with the girl. Two weeks had never gone by faster for the boy as the fated day dawned over the Capital...

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**And that is Chapter four. Next we will see our pink haired deuteragonist and the true start of this fan fiction.**

**Also I will be updating the description of the fan fiction as the story continue on. So the next time you see this story, you will see Yuzu H. in the character tags. Eventually, the description will truly describe just what this fan fiction entails. So look forward to that.**

**But now let me give you another piece of Sanctuary...**

**Naturally, their are leaders to rule over the many people of Sanctuary. Leaders who are only wise and knowledgeable, but also kind and understanding. These Leaders are known as the Lords and Ladies of Sanctuary. And each Lord or Lady of Sanctuary has their own kingdom where they, together, watch over the peace of the world. While most of them are of royal birth, a few of the Lords and Ladies have been hand selected to lead their own kingdoms. However, one of those few was not chosen to lead a sole kingdom. But rather, he was chosen to be the leader of all Sanctuary due to his kind heart, unwavering principles, unmatched strength, great leadership, and most of all, his powerful resolve which burned like a great bonfire. And with those qualities, he leads Sanctuary with the help of all of his closest friends and allies. Pulling the world into a new era where there is no need for despair, no need for gods, and no need for sacrifices.**

**That was quite lengthy but that is one fact behind the mysterious planet. Also could you tell who the Leader of all Sanctuary is? Well the answer, hopefully, will be covered in a future fan fiction one day.**

**Anyway, I've kept you here long enough. Please leave a review on the chapter or the fiction in general it will help me in my quest to improve my writing. And if you are still interested, I will see you in the next chapter.**

**Until then... T1**


	5. Chapter 5

**And here is chapter 5. This is where the story begins picking up and starts to get a bit more interesting... Hopefully.**

**This chapter is the beginning of one of the two major duels that occur in this story. I have really tried hard to make sure there isn't any errors during these duels so if you notice something, please mention it.**

**I don't really have much else to say at this point other than I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. Also possible OOC might be present.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Yuya got dressed in his favorite casual wear and put on his goggles as soon as he woke up. Yuya was told that the audience is a mix of the sophisticated and the average Joe, so he needed to wear something here he would stand out from both, hence his old goggles. Upon leaving, he began running towards The Nexus Theatre where the event will take place, not slowing down for anything. "Yuzu! I'm on my way! Wait for me!" Yuya thought as he continue to run.

Upon arriving at the scene, Yuya already saw a mass of people in front of the building. "I just hope I can get in…" Yuya thought as he began waiting. As time passed, Yuya began hearing whispers and murmurs about his presence, wondering why he would be here. "Is that Sakaki Yuya? The legendary action duelist?" A person mumbled. "Why is he here? For the concert?" Another whispered. "Maybe he wants to duel a fellow entertainer…" Someone replied. "Hmmm… Not a bad idea considering I haven't dueled her in… forever…" Yuya thought as he began ignoring his surroundings. As more time passed, Yuya began to worry that his surprise appearance might be ruined if the murmurs reach Yuzu before taking the stage. I mean, there aren't too many people who had hair that resembled a tomato, so it would be easy to pick Yuya out of a crowd. So he did the questionable act of leaving the scene and went home to change into something else that hid his appearance well. Yuya will not ruin this chance…

After going back to the theatre, the crowd thinned out quite a bit since Yuya left to change into a suit and hid his hair under a simple fedora. Entering took forever but when Yuya presented his ticket to the usher, the person gave the ticket and Yuya an odd look. "Is there something wrong?" Yuya asked with a nervous tone. "Not at all sir, it's just that this ticket is marked. You're free to head backstage after the performance, take this card as proof." The usher replied as he gave Yuya a peculiar card. "Thank you!" Yuya said before going in. This has been the first time Yuya went into the Nexus Theatre and he nearly got lost immediately due to the size of the building. For twenty minutes, Yuya already found five bathrooms, the three other halls, the maintenance area, backstage (which he was disappointed for not running into Yuzu), a creepy room filled with mannequins, and a door that just had a brick wall behind it. It was only after that Yuya found his way into the main hall and sat down in one of the few remaining empty sets.

It wasn't long before the lights dim and Yuzu walked across the stage beautifully dressed as the audience clapped and cheered. But Yuya noticed something not right, Yuzu's face had a bit of worry on her face as she began scanning the audience, probably looking for a familiar tomato head in the crowd. Yuzu's expression then relaxed seeing that she could not find the person she was looking for, closed her eyes as the audience silenced themselves. Then the orchestra began playing, and that was when she began singing. Yuya knew that his friend had a pleasant singing voice, but never had he heard Yuzu sing seriously for all the time he had known her. After each song, the audience applauded and cheered loudly before quieting down again for the next one.

After a while, Yuya figured it was almost the end of the concert and sneaked out of the hall and went outside for a moment to see Yusei carrying a giant bouquet of flowers. "Here you go, Good luck in there." Yusei said as he gave Yuya the bouquet. "Thank you. I appreciate everything you guys did for me. I'll repay you all one day." Yuya said before running back inside. Making his way down to the stages side entrance, Yuya convinced the security to let him go through with his proposition. "Thank you all for coming! I know the performance has been short, but I hope you enjoyed it!" Yuzu yelled as the audience cheered. "It's now or never…" Yuya thought as he took a deep breath. It was then that Yuya stepped out the stage, completely in view of everyone in the hall, and was immediately noticed by Yuzu. "Oh what's this?" Yuzu asked with surprise. "I enjoyed your performance very much Hiragi-san. So, please, accept this as a token of my appreciation." Yuya said, perfectly changing his voice as he handed the bouquet to Yuzu. "Thank you very much." Yuzu replied, accepting the gift. "Also if I may, I have proposition for you and the audience." Yuya added. "And what may that be?" Yuzu asked.

They all looked at Yuya, and a few seconds have passed before he gave his answer. "Would you like to duel?" Yuya asked as he pulled out his duel disk. Yuzu began thinking about the proposition as the murmurs began going through the audience, ranging from questions wondering if Yuzu dueled to spiteful comments towards the unknown man. But after a moment of thought, Yuzu gave her answer to everyone. "Very well, I won't refuse a challenge when my fans are watching." Yuzu replied as she left the stage. Few minutes later, Yuzu took to the stage again, this time with her duel disk on her arm. Yuya could hear it, the crowd was getting excited and restless at the unexpected sight. "Thank you for accepting. Now let's not keep the audience waiting." Yuya said as he set his duel disk on his arm. "Duel!" Yuya and Yuzu shouted.

"I'll go first. I activate the magic card 1st Movement Solo. I can special summon a level four or lower "Melodious" monster from my hand or deck. But I cannot special summon monsters for the rest of this turn unless they are Melodious monsters. I special summon Canon the Melodious Diva from my deck." Yuzu said as she summoned a purple clad woman. "I then normal summon another Canon The Melodious Diva from my hand." Yuzu continued as another woman appeared. "Now I activate the magic card Fusion! I fuse the Sonata and Aria Melodious Divas that are in my hand! Echoing Melodious voice, flowing melody! Guided by the baton, gather your power! Fusion summon! Now, come to the stage! Schuberta the Melodious Maestra!" Yuzu yelled as the female monster emerged from the dazzling light.

The crowd was awestruck, there was no information that Yuzu Hiragi was a duelist, but now, they can see the diva was a professional. "I'm not done just yet! With the two level four Canons, I construct an Overlay Network! Whispers of hope! Break the silence of fear! And let rise to the voice of freedom! Xyz summon! Rank four! Verse the Silent Maiden!" Yuzu yelled as the two monsters went into a spiraling portal before a dark clad woman emerged. The audience went ballistic at the sight and began screaming cheers to Yuzu and jeers to Yuya. "Question, I thought you could not special summon other than Melodious monsters?" Yuya asked calmly, ignoring the crowd. "Verse is treated as a Melodious monster. I cannot attack until you finish your turn, so I end my turn." Yuzu replied as the spotlight turned to Yuya. "That is a tough act to follow… But I won't back down! My turn, draw!" Yuya said cheerfully as he drew from his deck.

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**And that ends the fifth chapter. Like I said in the beginning note, It would be much appreciated if I get reviews to see how how I'm doing and to notify me if there are any errors. This duel anyway contains both cards that exist in the person's deck, and completely made up cards. You will get to see more later on.**

**Now let us get to the next piece of Sanctuary...**

**Each Lord and Lady of Sanctuary rules over their own kingdom... But one of these Lords rule over the bad but redeemable souls that was mentioned earlier... And the Kingdom he rules is the Underworld, a large prison like city that is located within the depths of the world. Those bad souls are placed here for a certain amount of time before they are allowed back up onto the surface. However, they are free to roam the city, doing whatever, so long as they do not agitate the security through riots, or attempt to escape through one of the many tunnels that connect the Underworld with the surface. Those who don't want to cause trouble are sanctioned to open small businesses to help provide for themselves and their brethren. There have been several people who volunteer to go to the Underworld even though the courts have allowed them to live on the over-world. On average, there has been twelve Underworld uprisings per year since the founding of the Underworld.**

**And that is all there is too this chapter. The next chapter is the continuation of this chapter, and then we delve into the heart of the matter between Yuya and Yuzu. I'll also be adjusting the fiction description according to my updates. Remember to review and comment, it would be worth millions. Anyway, I kept you here long enough...**

**Until next time... T1**


	6. Chapter 6

**And here is chapter six. I put a lot of thinking into this duel. Plenty of mental work went into this to make sure I didn't jack up anything along the lines. If you find something wrong, please notify me at once. Not much else to say here so... Please enjoy the chapter.**

**Possible OOC may be present in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Looking at the card he drew, Yuya saw it was the first of the two magicians for the pendulum scale. Looking at his current hand, Yuya currently has one magic card, two trap cards, Entermate Kaleido Scorpion, the recently drawn Stargazer Magician, and his ace, Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "Looks like I won't be able to make the crowd go wild just yet…" Yuya thought. "I activate the magic card Masks of the Performer! It allows me to special summon four Persona tokens onto my field, each with 1500 attack points and zero defense points!" Yuya yelled as four masks appeared on his side. "These tokens can only be summoned in attack mode and cannot change positions. I set two cards face down and I end my turn." Yuya said as two unknown cards appeared on his field. "Really? Is that it? And here I thought you were going to give me a real opposition, I guess I was wrong." Yuzu commented as the crowd could be heard snickering. "I humbly apologize for not being able live up to your expectations…" Yuya said with a bow.

"Let's finish this shall we? I draw!" Yuzu said as she drew before looking disappointed. "I was starting to enjoy myself, it was a real shame that it had to end so soon. Battle! With Verse, I attack a Persona Token!" Yuzu yelled as her monster sprang forward upon drawing its sword. "My continuous trap card activates! Defenses against the Jeering Crowd! If an Entermate monster on my field is destroyed by battle, I receive only half the battle damage!" Yuya yelled as he revealed the first unknown card. "That won't work! Those Persona Tokens are not Entermate monsters!" Yuzu yelled. "Then I activate my second continuous trap card! Filling In the Role! All monsters on the field are now considered Entermates unless an effect says otherwise!" Yuya yelled as the second card was revealed. "Your 2000 attack Verse and 2400 Schuberta won't hurt so much now." Yuya said with a smile. "Is that so?" Yuzu asked with a mischievous tone. "What?" Yuya asked flatly.

"I activate Verse's effect! By using an overlay, I can activate one of these effects during my battle phase. Verse gains 2000 attack points but no other monster except Verse could attack the turn I activate this effect. Or Verse could attack each monster on my opponent's field once at the cost of 200 attack points. Both of these effects lasts until the end of my turn. I chose to lower Verse's attack to 1800 and attack all of the Persona Tokens!" Yuzu explained before announcing her choice. "What!?" Yuya asked in surprise. "Dance of the Singing Sword!" Yuzu yelled as her monster gracefully cut apart the four masks. Yuya shielded himself from the dust as his Life Points went from 4000 to 3400. "I'm not done yet! I make a direct attack with Schuberta! Wave of the Great!" Yuzu yelled as Yuya was blown away by the sound made by her monster. Yuya's life went from a high 3400 to the critical 1000, now he is on the edge. "I set a card face down and I end my turn. At this moment, Verse's attack returns to normal. Sir, I would recommend you give up now and save yourself the humiliation." Yuzu said almost tauntingly. "Give up? Why would I do that? After all…" Yuya began as he stood up, head held high. "The fun has just begun!" Yuya finished with a cheerful shout.

Yuzu's eyes went wide as the man before her drew his next card with a familiar looking pose. Yuya looked at his drawn card and saw it was the second magician for the pendulum scales, Timegazer Magician. "Ladies and Gentlemen! Sorry for putting up this charade… But I am no stranger or random face in the crowd… In fact, it is I!" Yuya yelled as he shed off his suit and fedora, revealing his casual clothes and goggles from underneath. "Sakaki Yuya! The Action Duelist Extraordinaire!" Yuya yelled as he heard the shock from the audience. Yuzu stood there in disbelief, she had been dueling her best friend this entire time while throwing a few insults at him without realizing. "Having trouble believing it's me? Well look no further! I set the pendulum scale with the scale one Stargazer Magician and the scale eight Timegazer Magician!" Yuya yelled as he set the two magician cards on the opposite ends of the duel disk.

It was then that two people, one dressed in white, the other dressed in black, rose from the ground, both in their own pillar of light. "Now I can summon any number of monsters between levels two and seven from my hand at the same time! Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth! My Monsters!" Yuya yelled as the lights drew open a portal, summoning every monster in his hand. "First up is the adorable and vibrant Entermate Kaleido Scorpion! And then the star of the show! Make way for the dragon with beautiful dichromatic eyes, Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya shouted as the two monsters landed on the stage. Everyone was beyond shocked at this point, it really was the legendary action duelist that was standing before them. "Yuya…" Yuzu said quietly, trying to hide the fear in her voice. "It's good to see you again Yuzu. But the show must go on. I activate Kaleido Scorpion's effect! Once per turn, one of my face up monsters can attack every one of my opponent's special summoned monsters once, and only once! Kaleido Mirage!" Yuya yelled as the little scorpion created another image of Odd Eyes. "Yuzu, let's enjoy this duel until the very end. Battle! I attack Schuberta the Melodious Maestra and Verse The Silent Maiden with Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya said before giving his command. "Trap Card activate! Technical Difficulties: Climactic Failure! It automatically ends either player's battle phase!" Yuzu yelled with a panicked tone as Yuya's dragon readied its attack.

With a single step forward, Odd Eyes slipped, hit the ground head first, and its breath was released into the ground, kicking up enough dust and smoke to cover the entire hall. After the cloud of dust was cleared, Yuya and the audience saw that Yuzu was not on stage anymore. "Yuzu!?" Yuya yelled as the crowd began murmuring and whispering amongst themselves. Yuya turned to the two magicians and asked the two if they saw anything. Stargazer shook his head apologetically while Timegazer gave a clueless shrug. With that Yuya removed his cards from the duel disk blade, deactivated it and began running to find his friend.

Anywhere restricted to the public would be the first place he would check…

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**And that is Chapter Six, Did you enjoy it? Leave a review to give me your thoughts, it would be worth all that delicious gold. As I mentioned before, the next chapter is all about getting into the heart of the matter, the reasons why these Yuzu avoided Yuya in the first place. Also another character will make his appearance. So stay tuned.**

**Here is the next piece to Sanctuary...**

**While Sanctuary contains everything that is needed to support life, it does however bear an element unique to this planet. While it is an element with mass, has ability to decay, and is able to react with other elements... This element however is practically a physical contradiction for it's atomic mass is zero, has a periodic number of zero, and zero electrons orbiting around a non existent nucleus. This element is one of the greatest mysteries that is present on Sanctuary. Those researching this element has often called this Non-Existium due to its bizarre nature, practically stating that this is just solid energy. But the strangeness doesn't stop there as Non-Existium can do things that are completely impossible in the physical world. More on this later on...**

**And that is all there is to this. I hope you got some enjoyment out of this chapter and cannot wait for this story to continue. Anyway, I kept you here long enough...**

**Until next time... T1**


	7. Chapter 7

**And here is chapter seven. Oh look, a new character, make sure you all say hello to him. When writing this chapter, I purposefully try to write in such a way that I feel the feels punching me in the gut, but that's just me. Read through this and give me your thoughts on the situation involving my writing, thanks. Not much else to say here, so let me move out of the way.**

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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"Yuzu! Where are you!?" Yuya yelled as he continued to run through the halls. He checked everywhere, including places that would be impossible for a grown woman to use as a hiding place. It was then that Yuya noticed a door with Yuzu's name on it, making him reach for it, knowing that this was the last place she would be. Suddenly, Yuya's instinct kicked in and forced him to dodge an incoming strike from the side. With one swift motion, Yuya immediately placed his duel disk on his arm and activated the hard light blade, ready to use it as a weapon (something that Yusei noted when he first dueled Yuya). Yuya looked at his attacker and saw someone with his face but had wild, dark hair instead of the locks of red and green. Yuya immediately dropped any aggression and relaxed, if one doesn't provoke Yuto, then he won't bite back.

"Yuto, I see you're doing well." Yuya said as he removed the duel disk off his arm. "Likewise. Unfortunately I cannot allow you to see Yuzu." Yuto replied in a serious tone. "Wait, why!?" Yuya asked. "I cannot tell you. It was her request to keep you away and her reasons secret. I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Yuto replied. "You're head of security aren't you?" Yuya asked. "Of course, someone has to protect her and I don't trust anyone else to do so." Yuto answered. "I know I'm not in the position to say this, but please, let me talk to her for a few seconds! I don't care if it's through the door or if it's a one sided conversation, I just need to tell her something and then I'll leave! Please!?" Yuya begged his dark haired doppelganger. "…Fine… But I'm watching you." Yuto replied after much hesitation. Yuya approached the door and gave it a quick knock as he felt Yuto's glare burning through his back. "Yuzu, I don't have much time, but I just wanted to say I'm glad that you're doing okay. I don't know why you want me to stay away from me, but whatever the reason, I won't hold it against you. If it's me, I'm sorry for whatever I did. I'm giving Yuto my number, just call me whenever you're feeling up to it okay? I'll be going now, see you soon." Yuya said with a slightly sad tone.

Upon hearing no response, Yuya sighed and began writing down his mobile number on some old receipts in his wallet. "Here, keep an eye on her okay?" Yuya said with a depressed tone, giving Yuto the number. "I will, and don't worry, Yuzu's a strong girl." Yuto replied as Yuya began walking away. "Oh one more thing, congratulations!" Yuya shouted "For what!?" Yuto asked, confused at what Yuya is talking about. "For giving Yuzu the love and attention I never did!" Yuya replied, gesturing to Yuto's ring finger. "Thanks, stay safe my friend!" Yuto thanked, showing a smile as Yuya left. Once he knew Yuya was really gone, Yuto knocked on the door. "Yuzu… He's gone…" Yuto whispered before hearing the door unlock. Behind the door was not the confident woman with the bravery to face an audience of judging eyes, Yuto saw a scared little girl teetering on the edge of depression. Walking into the room, Yuto shut and locked the door behind him before giving his wife a comforting hug.

"Are you sure you didn't want to talk to him?" Yuto asked before Yuzu weakly nodded. "When I overheard the rumors that Yuya is here from the staff, I felt sick… I didn't want to sing on a stage with him watching…" Yuzu began quietly. "The manager convinced you otherwise. It's the last show and too many people had showed up to back out now. You went out there for the sake of your fans." Yuto continued, remembering how everything played out. "I looked and looked, but Yuya wasn't in the audience. I felt my strength come back when I couldn't find him and began to sing like how I always would. And then the duel…" Yuzu said as her voice trailed off. "To be honest, I don't think you should've accepted that duel." Yuto commented. "I wanted to… I have neglected my deck for too long and I wanted to play, even if it is just once… I just didn't think my opponent would be Yuya…" Yuzu explained. "I didn't expect it either, though his two trap cards did raise some red flags. No one uses Entermates unless you are Sakaki Yuya." Yuto replied. "That is what I originally thought too… But I ignored the possibility until it was right in front of me… And now he knows what I have been doing all this time… Running…" Yuzu said.

With a kiss on top of her head, Yuto began doing everything he could to calm his fear filled spouse. "Yuya didn't seem to be angry with you… He was more concerned with your sake than his own…" Yuto said with reassurance. "You don't know Yuya like I do… He is really good at hiding his true feelings from everyone including himself… Back when his father disappeared, he hid behind his goggles to hide his tears… But there is also something else he was hiding…" Yuzu replied, remembering what she had seen behind Yuya's crimson eyes. "What was it?" Yuto asked. "Pure hatred… Deep down, Yuya hated his father when he disappeared, burdening Yuya with the reputation of being the son of a no good coward… I had the misfortune to see him looking in a mirror… That cold, distant, and expressionless glare I came to remembering… I know he had lashed out a few times before apologizing, but I wouldn't know when he would set off again… It stopped when Yuya gained his Pendulum cards and the confidence that came with it that the distant stares stopped, transforming him back into the Yuya we all knew and loved…" Yuzu explained, tensing up at the memory.

"So you're afraid that Yuya might lash out when he has chance to?" Yuto asked. "Yes… I went against everything he believed in… I know he was really hurt when I forced a sacrifice on him… And I know he won't forgive me so easily… I'm not ready to face him alone… And I don't think I will ever be ready…" Yuzu said as she fought back the tears. "You're not alone… I'm here with you… Just take a moment to relax and I'll take care of everything…" Yuto whispered with a comforting tone. "Thank you…" Yuzu whispered back before giving the man a small kiss. After a short while, the two broke their embrace, and Yuto began leaving before remembering something. "What do you want me to do with Yuya's number?" Yuto asked, taking out the paper. "Leave it here, I will to call him when I feel confident enough…" Yuzu replied before Yuto left it on the table. "You're a strong girl Yuzu, but you shouldn't strain yourself. I'll be back when I'm done, until then…" Yuto said before leaving, closing the door.

Grabbing the paper, Yuzu stared intently at the ten digits that allowed her to connect to her long lost friend. Every memory came back, and the tears that she had held in for all this time came flooding out. And Yuzu made no attempt to stop it…

We never wish to confront the past… But we can never move forward until we do…

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**And that is all there is to this chapter. Opinions from my brother T2 state that things are not too interesting, but I want your opinion on this matter. How I did, your thoughts on the story so far, the level of OOC on a scale of 1 to 10, all that jazz will be helpful in improving my writing. Remember, reviews are worth more than gold on this site, so please leave a few. Also, if you are thinking this is a Braceletship story because of this chapter, you are sorely mistaken! All of this is part of plot and will resolve itself in the end.**

**Anyway, let's talk more about Sanctuary.**

**Continuing on from our discussion of Non-Existium from last time... This Element is peculiar in the fact that its entire existence is a contradiction to every physical and chemical law we know of. Non-Existium has mass though it has zero atomic mass, it has no nucleus or electrons and yet it still has a form, and it is practically solid energy. But the madness only continues onward as this element can do things that can make even Divine Beings question its powers. One, this element can create life based on the amount of non-existent atoms that are lost from the Non-Existium mass. From basic bacteria to the largest kaiju, this element can "spawn" them in as long as there is a mass of Non-Existium around, even when that creature is extinct. Two, this element can also transmute into other elements naturally. From Iron to Uranium, a single atom of Non-Existium can create several veins of other materials. And three, despite having no mass at all, it still has weight and requires a lot of effort to move around. It also has a magnetic field despite the lack of an atom. With this element, all laws concerning the conservation of matter is completely tossed out of the window, and all possibilities are open. And because of this mythical ability to create a lot out of a little, many civilizations in the universe seek Sanctuary out to gather this unique resource. So an end to the resource wars that plagues the entire universe can end. More to Non-Existum in the next chapter.**

**And that is everything there is to this chapter. Remember, your comments will help me become a better writer, so please leave a few. Any way, I kept you here long enough...**

**Until next time... T1**


	8. Chapter 8

**Nothing of importance to say up here.**

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Yuya woke up from his sleep, unrested and still tired from the events of the other day. Looking at his clock, it was already ten in the morning and the public was already outside doing their business. With a groan, he slid out of his bed and began going through his morning routine with an unusual lack of vigor. After showering, changing into some fresh clothes, and breakfast, Yuya went on his computer and dug through his email. One was from the Yugioh Dueling League, telling him to meet at HQ to talk about the other day. As much as Yuya didn't want to talk about it, he had to let them know how it went. After all they did sacrifice their time to get him there in the first place. "Guess I should just go now…" Yuya thought as he looked at the clock.

Once putting on his shoes, Yuya began making his way to the Mutou Arcade to recount his experience. Along the way, Yuya had met some… Resistance in the form of Sanctuary's media network. Bombarded with questions, Yuya hastened his strides and put the goggles over his eyes in attempt to ignore the crowd, but it was not very effective. Journalists, news casters, everything in between and more began accumulating behind Yuya into an uncomfortably large crowd. If only Yuya ran into that one guy who hated crowds, maybe he would have a chance to be at peace to think as the man bit the crowd to death. But no, the universe could only grant so many miracles in one week and could not spare any for Yuya. So without a moment of hesitation, Yuya took out and activated his duel disk, set it to battle mode, summoned Entermate Whip Viper, and used the monster to start escaping the crowd by whipping his way up buildings.

It took a while, but Yuya noticed that he lost the news media crowd in one of the more cluttered streets of the Commercial District. So with this knowledge, Yuya continue to swing his way around the city until he landed on the roof of the Mutou arcade. "Let's see if the roof access is… Of course it's locked…" Yuya thought as he tried to open the rooftop trapdoor. "Time to send a message…" Yuya said as he deactivated his duel disk. A few minutes after sending his message, the trapdoor clicked and opened, revealing Yugi. "How did you get on the roof?" Yugi asked, curious as to why someone is on the roof of his building. "I'll tell you when we get in." Yuya said as he climbed down. Going to the lounge as Yugi locked up the roof access, Yuya saw Yuma and Judai playing chess while Yusei is reading the day's paper. "I never thought I see you two play chess. So who is winning?" Yuya asked as he looked at the board. "It's hard to say, I think Yuma has better positioning despite having fewer pieces…" Judai answered with an uncharacteristic tone of intelligence. "Judai was bragging that he could beat me in any game, so I challenged him to a game of chess. The winner gets five silver coins, and the loser has to eat a bag of jellybeans." Yuma explained after making his move. "That's not much of penalty for losing…" Yuya commented as Judai moved a piece. "Not when they are the worst possible flavors in existence. One is enough to vomit out your breakfast… And Lunch… And ruin dinner, forever." Judai answered.

It was only after Yuma put Judai into check that Judai nudged the table from underneath, hoping the pieces would be knocked over, but that didn't happen. "This is a magnetic chess set Judai, you're not getting out of this one." Yuma said with a smirk. "You bastard! You did this on purpose!" Judai yelled. "Hey you accepted. You just didn't know I was forced to play chess against my much smarter friends to get my deck back." Yuma replied. "What story is that?" Yuya and Yugi asked, giving Yuma a curious look. "It just involves me studying my ass off to pass an important test. And then playing chess to prove I am still not an idiot. It went well." Yuma replied. "I'd say worked in his favor, I nearly lost to Yuma in a game." Yusei said, throwing in his two cents. "Checkmate. Now pay up." Yuma said as he moved his queen into position. "I will accept my defeat with dignity…" Judai said as he gave Yuma his coins. "Now that Yuya-kun is here, shall we delve into his experience yesterday?" Yugi asked. "Sure… Just don't mind my attempts to not throw up…" Judai mumbled as he began snacking on the jellybeans.

"First off, were you chased by the news media this morning?" Yusei asked as he closed his paper. "Yes, I had to take the long way around by building jumping." Yuya answered, remembering the annoyance he felt. "Thus the roof." Yugi said, piecing it together. "You should have been more careful on how to make your appearance, you're all over the paper. 'Action Duelist Star Sakaki Yuya makes over the top appearance at concert'." Yusei said as he placed the article down on the table. "Your publicity stunt just blew out all subtlety out the window…" Judai commented before eating a handful of jellybeans, hoping that he could finish it faster. "It's either go big or go home… But I see your point, I'm going to be harassed by journalists until they grow tired of the story." Yuya said as he began planning a new routes to every location he visits. "Don't worry about it, the press will pass eventually. The point is, one, did you enjoy yourself? And two, did you manage to talk to Yuzu-san?" Yugi asked. "Yes I did enjoy myself. The concert and the duel. But things went sour really quick when I revealed myself. Yuzu ran and I wasn't able to get a good conversation with her. I did however leave my number with the head of security so Yuzu can call me whenever she feels up to it." Yuya replied. "And how do you know this guy won't just toss it away?" Yusei asked.

"I know the guy, Yuto keeps his promises." Yuya replied. "Who is the guy anyway? It sounds like you two go back a bit…" Judai asked as he ate another handful, finally finishing the bag. "We don't know each other personally, but we fought together in the other world. Yuto is a rebel soldier fighting a war with an organization that destroyed his home city. Me, Yuzu, and a few of our friends were pulled into that world to end it. We won, but… you know the rest…" Yuya answered, not wanting to delve back into that portion of the story. "So this guy took care of your friend after the whole war thing?" Yuma asked. "Yes, Yuzu even married the guy and possibly had a kid or two. And though I felt… replaced, I'm glad that Yuzu has someone who is more competent at protecting her than me. I can trust Yuto like a brother, he has yet to let me down." Yuya explained, feeling his heart sink as he explained. "Dude, don't be too hard on yourself. Life just doesn't go the way we hope for it to go. We all know that feeling. Maybe not Yuma because of the whole Numeron Code miracle bullshit. But definitely me, Yugi, and Yusei." Judai said with reassurance and a slight joking tone. "Hey! I definitely can empathize with Yuya!" Yuma yelled. "Alright you two, don't start arguing now. But Judai-kun is right, it was out of your hands. Just try to bring closure to your relationship with Yuzu-san, and everything will get better, I promise." Yugi said, agreeing with Judai. "Guys…" Yuya said quietly with a small smile.

It was then that Yuya's phone began ringing, the tune of the Entertainer filled the room. "The Entertainer?" Yusei asked. "What? It's a nice tune. Hello?" Yuya replied before turning his attention to the call. There was no response from the other end of the line. "Hello?" Yuya asked again, this time with a concerned tone. "Oh! I'm sorry! Wrong number!" A voice squeaked quickly before the line went dead. "Well who was it?" Yuma asked. "I think that was Yuzu…" Yuya answered, unsure as he put down his phone. "You did give her your number." Judai replied. "Then why won't she talk to me?" Yuya asked, distressed at the situation. "I had a theory, that last interaction just proved it. Yuya, the girl cannot face you after what she did. She is afraid that you might lash out at her, and by creating distance, she will be far from your words, whether they had good or bad intentions." Yusei explained. "But I said I won't hold it against her… Should I call back?" Yuya asked. "No, she probably turned her phone off to stop you from reaching her now that you have her contact number." Judai replied. "Then what do I do? Sit around and do nothing?" Yuya asked, obviously uncomfortable at the entire situation. "There is not much else you can do. It all depends on her Yuya, she will open up eventually." Yuma replied. "I hope she does…" Yuya said as he slumped onto the table. "Come on guy, we have all of eternity to wait. I'm pretty sure she will come around." Judai said cheerfully.

Yuya didn't respond, signaling Yusei that the guy had enough for one day. "Come on Yuya, I think I should bring you home, you probably had enough for today." Yusei said as he stood up. "But it's only noon…" Yuya groaned. "Then spend that time thinking on what to do when she calls. Remember, think before you say anything and try to listen more, it won't help the situation if you don't let her talk." Yusei said as he picked up Yuya. "I'll try…" Yuya moaned as he got dragged off by Yusei. "We wish you the best of luck Yuya-kun!" Yugi yelled. "Remember Kattobingu! It will get you going!" Yuma yelled. "Also try to keep it PG! We wouldn't want this whole situation to get difficult and sexy!" Judai yelled. Yugi, Yusei, and Yuma gave Judai incredulous looks, trying to make him change his words, but to no avail. "What? Those kinds of things make storytelling interesting." Judai replied. "Anyway, we'll be going now. See you guys later." Yusei said as he and Yuya left.

After putting Yuya onto his D-Wheel and making sure he won't fall off because of his current zombie like state, Yusei activated the vehicle and drove off.

The silence has yet to be broken… Yet no one is willing to speak… All in due time…

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**And that is chapter eight. We are almost to the half way mark, a long time has passed since then. But we are not out of the woods just yet.**

**Before I continue with information on Sanctuary, let me explain just what Battle Mode was in the story. Battle mode is a setting in which all monsters, magic, and trap cards become tangible and are capable of doing a variety of things, mostly to fend off any danger that duelists would find themselves in. Just like in Arc V where Yuto and Yugo clashed in the flashback of episode 18, monsters can be summoned and fight without the round-a-bout delay of a summoning mechanic. Bonuses will be awarded if the monsters were summoned through its original mechanic (i.e. Xyz monsters summoned through Xyz summoning will have overlays as opposed to having none). Magic and trap cards work in a similar way except what it does in battle mode may differ from what it does in a duel. Certain Pendulum monsters will have their pendulum effects change in battle mode as well.**

**Now onto Sanctuary and the continuation of Nonexistium.**

**Nonexistium has a unique effect on the souls of Sanctuary as it acts as a power limiter. What that means is exactly what it sounds like, it restrains the strength of the denizens there. How much power the Nonexistium restrains is determined by how powerful the person was in life at the peak of their strength. Whether the person was a superhuman, had supernatural powers, or a regular human, they all experience the restrain differently. For example, Superman would lose a few of his super powers while Batman will only have a slight decrease in strength and reflex. There is a way to temporarily remove the limiter, but it can only be permitted by the Lord of All Sanctuary as removing the limiter will also make any Underworld Rebellion stronger and much harder to deal with. The only way to this short frame of power restoration is through the burning of a small sprite called Humanity. These strange, human shaped sprites are safe guarded by one of the Capital's armies, the Elite Knights. Forever keeping the balance that Sanctuary has cast upon its powerful and diverse denizens... Only awakening their true strength in the face of the greatest challenges that threatens them.**

**And that is all there is to this chapter. Plenty of OOC here, or at least I believe there is. As much as I could try to justify it later on, I need you guys to be alert and tell me if you are understanding what I'm getting at. But that is all for the chapters to come. Right now, tell me how I did with this chapter and all that stuff. Remember, reviews is worth more than gold on this site, so a few would be appreciated. Anyway, I kept you here long enough with my ramblings...**

**Until next time... T1**


	9. Chapter 9

**I apologize. Normally I update on Friday but I forgot and was kind of busy. Regardless, I present to you this next chapter.**

**Definite OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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After being dropped off at the housing complex, Yuya spend the rest of the day in bed, watching recordings of a comedy duo performing their skits on a tablet. Yuya only got up to get some more water, use the bathroom, and eat, nothing else could make him budge from his position. "So… This is what my life comes down to?" Yuya thought as he looked at the time. "One in the morning? I guess I should sleep now…" Yuya thought as he set his tablet on the bedside table. Yuya began slowly drifting into the land of dreams until the tune of the Entertainer woke him up again. "Ugh… Who in the world?" Yuya grumbled as he picked up his phone. "Hello?" Yuya asked as he answered the call.

Yuya was only met with silence, forcing him to look at the caller's number, which was the same as the one in the afternoon. "Yuzu?" Yuya asked trying to confirm the caller's identity. The silence continued, which almost made Yuya end the call but something stopped him. "Y… Yu… Yuya?" A voice replied hesitantly. "It's me…" Yuya answered, remembering Yusei's words to keep his lines short. Another silent pause, only the static and the ambient noise of the night filled Yuya's ears. "… Um… I was just calling to ask if…" Yuzu began but eventually trailed off. "If?" Yuya asked with a curious tone. "…If you want to… Go out with me tomorrow? As friends! Just as friends." Yuzu asked before correcting her statement. "Sure. Any place you have in mind?" Yuya answered before asking his own question. "I'll send you the address and time. Good night…" Yuzu said before the line went dead. Yuya then saw a message pop up on his phone, disclosing the time and location the two will meet. Before he went off to sleep, Yuya sent a message back to Yuzu. Good night…

Morning…

Yuya continued walking towards the location that Yuzu had given him, it was only twenty minutes until 11:30. Upon arriving somewhere near the address, Yuya saw a mob of people in surrounding a Café with numerous security guards holding the tide back. "Okay, that must be the place… Now how do I get through that mob?" Yuya thought, pondering on the possibilities. Yuya then took out his duel disk and activated it in battle mode. "I summon Entermate Partnaga!" Yuya yelled as a colorful snake with a hand at the end of its tail appeared. "Help me get over that mob!" Yuya said before the snake began wrapping its head around a lamppost and its tail on another. Yuya began walking back first into the elastic snake, planning his trajectory as he drew the snake to the right distance. Once ready, Yuya put his goggles on, leaned into the snake, and lifted his feet of the ground, launching him into the air. He soared over the crowd and security, who were surprised to see someone get launched right over their heads. Problem, Yuya made a slight miscalculation and wasn't flying towards the open front door, but towards the front window. "Oh shi-!" Yuya thought as he braced himself.

A few minutes earlier…

There Yuzu sat drinking her tea, mentally preparing herself for the inevitable meeting between two long lost friends. "Okay… You can do this… It's just the two of us catching up…" Yuzu thought calmly. "But what if Yuya doesn't show up? What would he say if he did? What if the crowd scared him away? What if I say something wrong? There are too many things that could happen!" Yuzu thought as she felt her heart rate spike. "I need to calm down…" Yuzu said quietly, taking a few deep breaths before drinking more tea. "I knew I wasn't ready… I should leave before Yuya gets here… I'll leave him a note apologizing for wasting…" Yuzu thought before stopping short when she heard a scream. "What is that?" Yuzu thought as she got up.

It was then that a shape crashed through the front window and came tumbling into the Café. Yuzu started backed off from the unknown shape until she saw shades of red and green cover its head. Yuya, upon rolling onto his feet, got up and checked if he got any cuts from the crash. Miraculously, Yuya had none what so ever, just a sore back from the rolling. "Nailed it!" Yuya shouted with a smile. Yuzu had the urge to hit the man, but quelled the feeling as Yuya was just being himself, and the fact that she no longer has her fan. "Yuya, you do realize you have to pay for the damages right?" Yuzu asked with a smile, momentarily forgetting the nervousness she had felt. "Oh… Right…" Yuya answered upon seeing the mess of broken glass. "Don't worry about it. Come on, we have a lot to catch up on." Yuzu said as saw Yuya's monster slither into the building through the open door. "Is that how?" Yuzu asked pointing at the snake. "Yeah, it wasn't one of my better plans…" Yuya replied as he deactivated his duel disk.

The two sat at the table Yuzu was sitting on previously, but upon sitting down, Yuzu felt nervous again. "Nice place, very cozy." Yuya said, as he looked around the Café's interior. "It is…" Yuzu replied simply. "So, tell me about the whole 'becoming a singer' thing. I never thought you would become one." Yuya said as he began folding the cloth napkin in front of him. "Well… I never actually planned it actually. I was just living in the Kingdom of Vesperia with Yuto, just working to make ends meet. It wasn't until I was heard singing by the CEO of the BW Talent Agency that she offered me a shot at fame. I didn't want to do it I at first, but Yuto convinced me, saying I should give something a chance before shooting it down. So, thirteen performances and thousands upon thousands of fans later, here I am, Hiragi Yuzu, the Heavenly Diva." Yuzu explained, keeping her mind off the knots in her stomach. "I see, and how do you feel about performing on the stage?" Yuya asked as he continued to fold the napkin without looking. "I dueled in front of thousands but I still am nervous when it comes to singing… It feels lonely without my monsters there with me and - What is that?" Yuzu began answering before seeing what Yuya did with the napkin. "It's a duck. Quack! Quack!" Yuya replied as he placed down his creation.

And sure enough, it looked like a duck. "How did you do this?" Yuzu asked as she looked at the creation. "I have way too much free time, you'd be surprised how many hobbies I picked up. Which includes writing bad fan fiction." Yuya explained as he began folding the other napkin. "Really now? Tell me more." Yuzu asked, feeling the knots loosen. "Okay cloth origami and fan fiction writing are two givens. But I also learned how to play a guitar, a piano, the trombone, juggling, became a puppeteer, learning ventriloquism, cooking, magic tricks, fencing, javelin throwing, tightrope walking, parkour, scuba diving, and most importantly, dueling." Yuya answered. "I can't believe you find all the time to do that! Don't you have action duels to play or a job to go to?" Yuzu asked in disbelief. "My manager can only find me so many duels in a week. And I have no real job to go to. I really should find something, but I'm too lazy and my shows pay well enough for me to not live on the streets. "Yuya answered as he finished folding the second napkin, this time it was a rose flower. "You have changed a lot Yuya and yet you're still the same… But I'm stuck where I am and I don't think I can catch up…" Yuzu commented, before sadly looking at the table.

"Yuzu, I don't know what you're talking about, you are miles ahead of me. You're out there seeing the world while I sit in the Capital! You are experiencing things I will never have the opportunity to see! And most importantly, you have someone who loves you, someone who cares about you… I have no one…" Yuya replied before trailing off. "Yuya, that's not true…" Yuzu replied. "It's true that I'm not entirely alone… I do have my friends at the Dueling League… But I have nothing else… I only move forward is because I don't want to worry anyone… I don't really have anything to fight for…" Yuya agreed, but ultimately strengthened his argument. "Yuya can you please stop saying things like that? I liked a lot of things about you. The way you dueled, the way you acted… The way you made everyone smile… There was so much I wanted to know about you… There was so much that you had that I didn't... I wanted to catch up, I didn't want to be left behind… I wanted to learn just who Sakaki Yuya was." Yuzu argued.

"Don't lie to yourself Yuzu. There is nothing in my life that you don't already have… In fact, I am the one too far behind to ever catch up to you, I'm out of your league… So I want you to be happy and show all of Sanctuary the smile that I always loved seeing. Don't let me slow you down, you deserve so much more than someone like me… A dead weight…" Yuya continued as he got up. "It was nice meeting you again… But this is the last time we will ever see each other… Good Bye Yuzu…" Yuya finished as he began making his way to the door…

Always we run after the person ahead of us, struggling to surpass them. Only to never realize that we are far ahead of them…

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**And that is chapter nine. The OOC is strong with this one. I'm not going to explain why I had made these two like this until later on. But right now I want to know how you all currently feel about this story. Or tell me you understand what I'm getting at when it comes to Yuya's and Yuzu's behaviors. If you can leave a review on the situation, that would be much appreciated. We're halfway there everyone, just bear with me just a bit longer.**

**I'm not going to tell a piece about Sanctuary in this chapter, I'm sure you guys are sick of seeing a block of text here. Unless you all say otherwise, I'll wait a while before including the next piece.**

**Not much else to say. Leave comments, questions, reviews, and concerns about the story, it will really help. Also, brace for more OOC in the next chapter. Anyway, I kept you here long enough...**

**Until next time... T1**


	10. Chapter 10

**Not much to say up here. So I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

**Definite OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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"Wait!" Yuzu yelled as she grabbed Yuya's arm. "What?" Yuya asked without turning around. "Listen, do you want to go for a walk?" Yuzu asked. "Why?" Yuya asked, looking back at Yuzu. "It was nice when we walked together…" Yuzu replied. "It was… But I don't want to send any mix messages… Especially to Yuto…" Yuya explained. "Yuya, just this one time. For old times' sake?" Yuzu said, giving Yuya a pleading look. After much hesitation, Yuya simply nodded but stopped remembering that there is still a problem. "I don't think we can do anything with that mob out there." Yuya said as he pointed out the window. "Oh… Right…" Yuzu mumbled, realizing that they really can't go anywhere with a mob at their heels. "I have the solution to this. Do you really want to go on this walk Yuzu?" Yuya asked as he placed his hands on the girl's shoulders. "Very much…" Yuzu answered softly. "Then I hope you don't mind me blowing all subtly out the window." Yuya said with a smile. "What?" Yuzu thought as she was dragged off by Yuya.

On the rooftop, Yuya activated his duel disk and set it to battle mode. "Wait, this is your plan!?" Yuzu asked, realizing what Yuya's solution was. "You know me more than anyone else Yuzu. Of course this is the plan. I thought you wanted to go on this walk?" Yuya answered. "I do, but…" Yuzu said quietly. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing… Sort of…" Yuya replied before he turned around. "I summon Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya yelled before his ace monster appeared before them. Yuya climbed up onto the dragon's head, using its horns as the means to hold onto the creature as they ride it. "Come on up, Odd-eyes won't mind the extra weight." Yuya said, stretching his hand towards Yuzu. "What is that supposed to mean?" Yuzu asked, pouting as she took Yuya's hand. "Nothing hurtful. Now hold on, this going to get rough…" Yuya replied as he pulled Yuzu up.

Putting on his goggles, the dragon began to lower its body, getting ready to jump. "Yuya, I'm starting to think this is a bad ideeeaaaa!" Yuzu began saying before screaming as Odd Eyes jumped high into the air. The dragon flew over the mob, and landed a few feet from the crowd. "There she is!" Someone yelled. "Uh oh, I think it's time we left the stage. Odd Eyes! Let's get going!" Yuya said before commanding the dragon to run at full speed. Despite having large, clumsy looking feet, Odd Eyes is a capable runner, out pacing the charging mob by several feet. "All we have to do now is lose them in the traffic and we'll be golden!" Yuya shouted. "Wait what!?" Yuzu yelled back, unsure if she heard Yuya correctly. "Hang on tight Yuzu! This is going to get crazy!" Yuya yelled as Odd Eyes turned the corner into a more traffic heavy street.

Normally, one wouldn't expect a fanatic mob chasing a dragon into some traffic heavy streets. But here on Sanctuary, especially in the Capital, these kinds of things happen more times than not and has almost became the norm. Never the less, having a giant red dragon on the road can cause… Inconveniences to the other drivers on the road. "Watch where you're going asshole!" Some driver yelled as Odd Eyes nearly stepped on his car. "Sorry!" Yuya yelled as Odd Eyes continued to dodge the oncoming traffic. "Yuya! At least get onto the right lane! If I didn't love you so much I would…!" Yuzu yelled before stopping short, hoping that Yuya didn't hear her. "What was that!? You're going to have to speak louder! I can't hear you over the wind and car horns!" Yuya yelled. "Get on the right road!" Yuzu yelled at the top of her lungs. "Okay, got it!" Yuya shouted as he veered Odd eyes into the right side, now running with cars instead of at them. "Looks like we got away. Did you enjoy the ride?" Yuya asked, looking back at Yuzu. "As much as I want to hit you right now…" Yuzu replied, heart still beating a mile a minute.

Yuya directed his dragon into the Amana Park, where there were fewer people than the more congested concrete blocks. "Good job Odd Eyes, go ahead and rest up." Yuya said as he patted the head of his dragon. The two climbed off Odd Eyes and Yuya deactivated his duel disk, making the crimson monster disappear in a cloud of dust. "Yuya… Please don't do that again…." Yuzu said as she threw herself onto a bench. "What? You didn't enjoy the ride?" Yuya asked, sitting down next to her. "No… It was just… Unexpected…" Yuzu replied. "You know me..." Yuya said simply, removing his goggles off his face. The two went quiet, enjoying the fine weather as the wind gently blew around them, rustling the trees around them. "Yuya, did you mean what you said back at the Café?" Yuzu asked quietly. "Huh?" Yuya asked, snapping out of his tranquil state. "Back at the Café, when you said after this, you didn't want to see me anymore. Did you mean it?" Yuzu repeated, this time specifying what Yuya said

"I may be a fool and an idiot Yuzu, but I am not a liar. I always mean what I say. You shouldn't be held back by me anymore. I have nothing to give back by staying with you." Yuya replied. "But you do have something that I need. My life has become to monotonous, every day was the same as the last. Get up, eat, practice, spend time with Yuto, and go back to sleep. I wanted to try to do something else, but never had the time for it. As the same day passes, I start to feel more like a machine than a person, following a code that was made. But when you appeared on that stage, wanting to duel me, I began to feel like myself again. Looking back, every single day was unique because of you. You were that chaotic element that made each and every single moment fun and exciting. That is something that I never have now Yuya. And it is something that only you can give me." Yuzu explained, trying her best to convince Yuya. "Everything I do always breaks or hurts something or someone. I broke that window because I wanted to see you but never considered a safer approach. I nearly crushed that guy's car because I wanted to get away from the mob in the only way I knew how. And I hurt you for not considering your feelings back then, leaving you with unanswered feelings. I appreciate your kind words, but someone like me shouldn't be around you. My antics could only bring you trouble." Yuya replied with a sad tone.

Silence sat between the two, only having ambient noise pass through the air. "Do you love me?" Yuzu asked suddenly, breaking the ambiance. "As a friend or something more?" Yuya replied, asking his own question. "I don't know… In general?" Yuzu said, unsure if her answer was even proper. "Yuzu, I love you in every way possible. You were one of my first friends. You always helped me when I needed it the most. You believed in me when I couldn't even believe in myself. You gave me the happiness that kept the pendulum swinging. I'm sorry I couldn't return any of your kindness, I ignored every hint until the truth was in my face. If I could start again, I would tell you that I appreciate everything you did before something would try to separate us." Yuya replied, resisting the urge to pull down his goggles. Yuzu didn't respond, instead she looked at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. "Yuzu? Are you okay?" Yuya asked. "I'm fine… Just trying to figure out a response…" Yuzu answered. "Okay… Listen, I think I had enough for today. I'm going to go now." Yuya said as he stood up. "Will I see you again?" Yuzu asked as she did the same. "I'll think about it, but no promises." Yuya replied. "Okay. But before you go, let me do one last thing…" Yuzu said as she moved closer to Yuya.

It was then that Yuzu gave Yuya a kiss on the cheek. Taking a few seconds to register what just happened, Yuya's face then turned as red as a tomato. "What was that for!?" Yuya asked, both shocked and embarrassed. "For today. I had a lot of fun." Yuzu replied. "Me too…" Yuya said, still unsure of what just happened. "I'll stay here a bit longer and enjoy the weather. I never get out much because of the mobs of people I manage to attract." Yuzu said as she sat back down. "Okay, I'll see you around…" Yuya replied as he ran off. Yuzu took a deep breath and thought about what she said and did, was she digging up the hatchet she buried so long ago? "Are you thinking about Yuya?" A voice asked from above. Yuzu looked up and saw Yuto standing on top of a branch of a nearby tree, looking down at Yuzu. "Yuto! Uhh… How long were your there for!? Did you saw…?" Yuzu asked as she shot up from her seat, facing her husband. "I saw and heard everything. But I won't say anything, it was just an innocent gesture." Yuto replied before jumping down.

Yuto approached Yuzu and the two looked into each others eyes. "Do you love Sakaki Yuya?" Yuto asked with an oddly warm tone. "I don't know… If I say yes, you would only get angry… If I say no, I would only be lying to myself…" Yuzu replied, confused on what to do. "I would never be angry at you if all you're doing is trying to be happy. In fact I predicted something like this would happen. My point is don't worry about me, just worry about yourself." Yuto said, putting his hand on Yuzu's story. "But I don't want to hurt you. It would be selfish of me to betray the decades of memories we created." Yuzu replied. "I have survived too many battles to let this incident hurt me. I know this is confusing you, but give some time to think about it. I will wait for your answer and help you decide what to do then. Deal?" Yuto suggested. "…Deal…" Yuzu mumbled. "Now, let's get back to the hotel before we get discovered." Yuto said as he activated his duel disk. "You're going to do the same thing aren't you?" Yuzu asked, already knowing where this was going. "More or less." Yuto answered with a serious smile.

To whom do we owe our feelings to? The one who never answers back with his own? Or to the one who was never meant to receive it at all?

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**And that is chapter ten. A lot of mood swings here but I feel it was pretty good. What did you guys think of this chapter? Remember to leave some reviews, they're worth more than gold here.**

**No notes on Sanctuary here. I'm still giving you guys a break from the text box that is here. Unless you guys say otherwise, I will be putting the Notes on Sanctuary on hold.**

**Not much left to say here. Just remember to leave some comments in the review box and stay tuned for the next chapter.**

**Anyway, I kept you here long enough...**

**Until next time... T1**


	11. Chapter 11

**Not much to say up here.**

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Mutou Arcade, second floor…

"Guys, I'm starting to get worried about Yuya-kun… We haven't seen him since last week." Yugi said as he sat down. "At least we know he hasn't been neglecting his duels." Yusei commented as he showed the others an article covering Yuya's recent action duel. "I wouldn't worry about Yuya too much. He's probably just at home, contemplating on his meaning in the world." Judai replied before drinking some coffee. "We should really check up on him though, we know where he lives right?" Yuma asked, looking up from a pile of duel monster cards. "We do, but is now the right time?" Yusei answered before they all heard a knock at the stairway door. "I'll get it." Yugi said as he left the room. "We need to figure something out about Yuya, he's going to revert into a pile of angst at this rate." Yuma said as he continued to scrounge around the pile. "And everyone knows that no one likes depressing, angsty, or completely edgy characters in a story." Judai commented as Yugi walked back in, but stood the entrance way. "Who was it?" Yusei asked, putting his paper down. Yugi didn't say anything, he stepped aside and revealed a concerned Yuzu behind him. "Oh… Coffee?" Judai asked, trying to ease the oncoming heavy mood.

Placing down a cup of the bitter drink, Yuzu took it and drank a good portion of it before putting it back down, releasing a bitter exhale as she did so. "I could have gotten some cream and sugar if you wanted." Judai said, surprised that someone could down that much black coffee in one second. "Thank you for offering, but I needed that…" Yuzu replied, still looking down at dark liquid. "May I ask why you are here Yuzu-san?" Yugi asked. Yuzu didn't respond, she just continued to look into the coffee for answers. "It's Yuya-kun isn't it?" Yugi continued. Yuzu just drank more coffee in response, nothing escaped her lips and yet they discovered the cause. "Esse cara vai ser o fim de nós… Can't he see we're practically playing cupid here!?" Judai whispered angrily. "I don't think you can play cupid when one of them is married…" Yuma replied. "So!? Fandoms don't care about that kind thing! And neither do I! We. Will. Get. Those. Two. Together!" Judai said quietly, punctuating his final sentence to display determination. "I'm right here you know…" Yuzu commented as a light blush could be seen on her face.

"Okay you two, stop embarrassing her. First, tell us what problem you have with Yuya. Did he do something to you recently?" Yusei asked. "I think he followed on his word to shut me out of his life. I tried calling him but he doesn't pick up, every one of my messages were ignored, and I don't know how to reach him through anything else. I came here to ask if any of you seen Yuya, just to know that he is doing okay." Yuzu replied. "He's doing okay enough to be dueling. But other than what we see of him in the paper, the rest of us haven't seen Yuya-kun in about a week." Yugi replied. "Do you know where Yuya lives? I can go visit him." Yuzu asked. "If you said he's shutting you out, then I doubt Yuya will open the door for you." Yusei answered, explaining why that action won't have any effect. "Don't worry about that, I already have a plan that will breach the tomato man's outer shell…" Judai said deviously as everyone looked at him. "This isn't going to end well…" Yuzu thought as Judai began explaining quietly.

Later…

Yuya laid in his bed, listening to some music as he stared at the ceiling. One week, this is how he spend all of his extra time when he was not dueling. It was unproductive, that much he knew, but Yuya's mind couldn't focus on doing anything else. A specific girl was on his mind, a girl that suddenly came back into his life and made things complicated. "Does she still love me? What if she doesn't? I wouldn't blame her, I have been a jerk to her… And she is married to someone far more competent than I am…" Yuya thought. "I love and want Yuzu in my life again... But I can't just take her from someone else's arms… We could just remain friends, but that is going to hard pill to swallow for me… And shutting out Yuzu will only end up hurting her… Ugh! Why is love so complicated!?" Yuya grumbled before hearing a knock at the door. Getting up to answer the door, Yuya continued to wonder about his disposition before gazing out the peephole on the door.

There stood Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma, but was something not right about the four, Yuya could feel it. But against that nagging feeling, Yuya began opening the door to let his friends in knowing that he had no contact with them for a week. It was only when the door was completely open that Yuzu walked in and the other four were nowhere in sight. "What? Yuzu…? Where…? Why…?" Yuya began babbling, completely confused at what just happened. "Is there something wrong Yuya?" Yuzu asked calmly, holding back all frustration she felt for the past week. "Weren't there just four people out there?" Yuya asked as he looked out the door, trying to figure out an answer. "There was no one else out there. Close the door, you're going to look suspicious if you keep looking out the door constantly." Yuzu lied, knowing that the other four is around the corridor. "Okay…" Yuya mumbled, admitting defeat as he closed the door.

"Take a seat, make yourself at home. I'll get some tea ready." Yuya said as he began scrounging through his kitchen cabinet. "You have a really nice place Yuya, do live here by yourself?" Yuzu asked as she sat down. "If I had known you are going to visit, I would have this place cleaned up a bit. And yes, I live alone." Yuya answered. "Do you know why I'm here Yuya?" Yuzu asked, shifting into a more serious tone. "I know… Hold on…" Yuya answered before taking a look at a recently received message. "Play nice you two… ;) – Your friend, Judai." Yuya read quietly. "I'm going to kill that guy…" Yuya thought as he began hearing the water boil. After placing leaves into a teapot and pouring the water into it, Yuya served the tea and sat down in his armchair that was across from Yuzu. "Thank you… Anyway, I need to talk to you. Why have you been ignoring me for the past week? Did you know I was trying to call you?" Yuzu asked after taking a sip of the tea. "I know, but I was trying to figure out something. Something involving… Us…" Yuya answered. "Us?" Yuzu replied, delving deeper into that subject. "It's dumb… I was just thinking about our current relationship… I know things are different now than they were before, and I want to do things differently. But I don't know if you would feel the same things as I do, and I don't want to create more tension and awkwardness than there already is. The point is I'm sorry, for everything. I really have been depressing and neglectful of your want to spend time together... As friends…" Yuya answered.

Yuzu looked at Yuya before giving him a soft smile, she needed to hear that come from Yuya's mouth. "Then do you want to spend the rest the day together as friends?" Yuzu asked. "Sure, I would love to. What do you have in mind?" Yuya asked as he got up. "You could show me around the place, or show me some of more of the hobbies you picked up." Yuzu suggested. "Okay, I'll be back." Yuya said as he ran to the closet that kept his things. After fishing out several items of varying shapes and size, Yuya came back with an armload of seemingly random stuff. "What do you want to see first? Guitar? Ventriloquism? Magic tricks?" Yuya asked, holding a guitar, a puppet, and a plain old deck of playing cards. "You can start with anything you want." Yuzu replied. "Then prepare to see some of the greatest magic tricks I have learned." Yuya declared as he sat back down with the playing cards.

It must have been a few hours since Yuya began showing off his many hobbies, because by the time he finished, the sun already began setting and the two were a bit hungry. "It's this late already? Man, we completely skipped over lunch. Shall I cook us up something nice?" Yuya asked as he got up. "Absolutely. I could help you if you want, I haven't cooked in a long time." Yuzu replied, trying to get up before Yuya gestured to stop. "You're a guest and I'm the host, I'll handle it… Oh no…" Yuya said, checking the fridge just to find it barely containing anything. "What is it?" Yuzu asked. "I forgot today I'm supposed to go shopping for food stuff. I'm going to go to a nearby market for stuff, so feel free to explore my humble home. I'll be back soon." Yuya replied before leaving the apartment. "Take your time!" Yuzu yelled before the door closed.

While she was alone again, Yuzu smiled for the fact that Yuya is opening up to her again and this time tried not to run out on purpose. She had enjoyed today and wished that she could have more opportunities to spend time with her best friend… Best friend?

Sometimes by sacrificing our love towards another person, we can still find happiness in simply being around them…

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**And that is chapter 11. Originally I was planning to include what Judai's plan was but it was too lengthy. All you guys need to know is that the plan involved battle mode and several cards fit for the situation. And just like in Episode 48 of Arc-V where Serena activated a card to shroud her and Shun's escape. Here the four helps Yuzu get to Yuya undetected using the same method. Except they have the creativity of five people as opposed to two, just think of the possibilities!**

**Anyway, onto the serious stuff. I have this vague feeling that this story is not as good as I thought it was. But what is your opinion on this? Leave a review and tell me how you feel about this fan fiction. That would be much appreciated.**

**That is pretty much it. So...**

**Until next time... T1**


	12. Chapter 12

**Not much to say up here.**

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Yuzu looked around the condo that Yuya owned. Finding that it wasn't too terribly large to make her uncomfortable, Yuzu found out that she would not mind living here if… One, her singing career didn't involve so much traveling that she could enjoy settling down once in a while. And two, if Yuya would be willing to share the place as it is more homely with more people. The second idea made Yuzu's face feel hot, the thought of sharing a living space with someone you're emotionally confused about can do a number of things to you. But Yuzu shook the feeling off, it was only ten minutes since Yuya left and she has neatly went through most of Yuya's condo except the bedroom. And as much as she didn't want to dig through the place where Yuya sleeps, curiosity got the better of Yuzu and made her go snooping around.

It was only after opening up the second to the last drawer of Yuya's desk that Yuzu began regretting her decision of searching the bedroom. What was inside that can startle Yuzu who has practically seen everything? I'll give you a hint, every heterosexual young male would own this item at some point in their life. That's right, it was pornography, Yuzu found Yuya's personal stash of visually stimulating material. "Oh god!" Yuzu yelled as she slammed the drawer shut and back away from the desk. "I should stop before I regret finding something else…" Yuzu thought, face completely red. But curiosity was taking over again as Yuzu went through everything in the room, and there was only one thing she hasn't checked, the last drawer of the desk. "I shouldn't... I might find something more disturbing…" Yuzu thought, trying not to imagine what could be in that last drawer.

But alas, curiosity swept her towards the drawer and placed Yuzu's hand onto the handle. Opening it slowly, all Yuzu could see were books, all written by a Lord Thomas Kaster. "Okay they are just books… Hmmm… I read some of the books in Yuya's collection… Maybe I'll read one… Rose In The Hand…" Yuzu thought as she picked up that book. It was a simple green covered book with the title and author written in crimson in the front, and several reviewers' opinions on the back, all being very positive. Upon seeing the review and name of a well-known, sock-hat wearing, literature enthusiast, Yuzu developed a great curiosity at the book's content and opened the book up to begin reading. "Chapter One… Those Feelings I Feel…" Yuzu began reading.

Curiosity is cruel and sly cat… This was no ordinary book Yuzu was reading, In fact it was something that she would have never expected Yuya to own. What was it exactly? This one is a bit more difficult to figure out so I will give you the answer… Its erotica, Yuzu found Yuya's personal stash of sexual, textual material. Immediately upon this realization, Yuzu closed the book, face redder than any shade in existence. "Why would Yuya have these!? Why would he separate them from the others!? Technically people separate comics and manga from actual works of literature… Wait! Why am I trying to explain this!?" Yuzu thought. As much as Yuzu wanted to put the book away, run back to the living room, seal the memory forever and wait until Yuya returned, Yuzu wanted to continue reading. How the story opened was beautifully done, even the lewd scenes that Yuzu managed to read before closing the book were written excellently and allowed one to easily imagine the act being performed. "It's good… And I don't want to insult this person's work despite it being very… Dirty… Maybe a few more pages…" Yuzu thought, as she hesitantly opened the book again ad continued where she left off.

Curiosity, can be interpreted metaphorically as a feline that manipulates one's thoughts into following or investigating something of interest. But when they say that curiosity killed the cat, they are not referring to actual cats, they are referring to people. It was only after several more pages that Yuzu realized who wrote the book based on the writing style and word choice. The author was not Lord Thomas Kaster, whoever he was, but it was in fact her best friend, Sakaki Yuya, who wrote the book, all of those books. Yuzu threw the work of obscene literature away from her and moved away, as if it was some lethal creature trying to kill her. "Yuya wrote that! There is no other person who writes the way he does!" Yuzu thought as her face was burning hotter, and redder than ever before. Yuya did show Yuzu some of his fan fictions earlier that afternoon, insisting that they were no good, but she enjoyed reading them a lot. Yuzu then made the joke that if Yuya wasn't an action duelist, he would most certainly be an author. In hindsight, Yuzu noticed that Yuya's laugh was a bit forced but at the time, she didn't think much of it. "Why would Yuya write this!? Did he do this on purpose! Who is Lord Thomas Kaster!? Is it just an alias!?" Yuzu thought frantically.

That last question was the first thing she began working out, why the name Lord Thomas Kaster? The thought lead nowhere but back to the book Yuzu threw across the room. "Why do I want to read more? Is it because it's Yuya's work? I'm going to go crazy if I read anymore knowing that Yuya wrote those…. Still… I need to know if Mizuki's love for her distant fiancé will turn out alright in the end… I hate you for being such a good writer and story teller Yuya…" Yuzu thought as she picked up the book again, starting from where she left off. One hundred and ten minutes has passed and Yuzu closed the book, finishing its three hundred and fifty page long story. "It's a shame that she had to commit suicide in the end… Mizuki could have ended up with that foreign boy…. I wonder if I could get Yuya to tell me why he ended the story like this…" Yuzu thought as she wiped away the last of her tears. "No… I can't ask him about this… Yuya will know I've been snooping around…" Yuzu thought as she put the book away.

Yuzu looked around the room once more, everywhere was searched and Yuzu felt a bit slimy for doing so as she found some less than desirable content in the room. But something lead Yuzu's gaze to the bedside drawer, something she already searched and found nothing of interest. "Yuya's been gone for a while… I don't think it will hurt to look around one more time…" Yuzu thought as she approached the bedside table.

Yuya is stuck… Where do you ask? Inside the market… For nearly two hours. He took ten or fifteen to go to the other stores and bought what he needed, it was this store that was the problem. Yuya could go to another register, but all other cashiers in the market were out. Apparently the others have gone on holiday and every patron was stuck with the cashier who was the most incompetent person in the world. The man did not know how to use the scanner, and broke it. He tried using the register and… It broke. And now the man had to do it by hand, but even then he had to call a price check for every item, including the ones that had the price tag on it. "I hope Yuzu is having more fun than I am…" Yuya thought as it was finally his turn. As soon as the cashier began motioning for the microphone to do a price check, Yuya just had enough of this nonsense. "You know what!? Screw this! Just take my money and keep the god damn change!" Yuya yelled as he slammed three gold coins on the counter. "Oh, thank you!" The cashier thanked as he began packing the items. "No thank my guest who has probably been waiting, hungry, for the last hour!" Yuya yelled, completely exasperated at the situation. "I'm sorry…" The cashier mumbled sadly. "Good day…" Yuya said remorsefully as he took the items and left.

Arriving back at his condo, he noticed that Yuzu was not in sight. "Yuzu?" Yuya called out as he looked around the condo. Yuya first knocked on the bathroom door, but no one responded so he knew Yuzu wasn't in there. Yuya then checked his room and then saw Yuzu, sitting on his bed, looking at a platinum ring with gold etchings. Yuya felt uncomfortable suddenly and wanted to grab the ring, run somewhere, and throw it as far away as possible. But he didn't do that, Yuya knew that action won't solve anything. So… "Yuzu, I'm back." Yuya said as he approached the girl. "Oh, welcome back…" Yuzu replied, turning away to hide her slightly flushed face, having known that her friend writes sexy, depressing stories. "Were you snooping around?" Yuya asked as he sat next to her. "Technically you told me to explore and did not tell me where I'm not allowed to look…" Yuzu answered, still looking away. "Okay you got me there… So any questions about my home?" Yuya asked. "Umm… Could you tell me about this ring?" Yuzu asked, pushing the other questions concerning the books back. "Well… It's a wedding band. I was married once…" Yuya answered. "What happened?" Yuzu asked, concerned. "It's a long story…" Yuya replied, trying to change Yuzu's mind. "I have all night…" Yuzu said as she placed her hand on top of his.

"Then let me start the day we were separated…"

Curiosity is a subconscious feeling… It draws us closer to things like moths to a flame… But only when we reach it we discover that it will either… Enlighten us… Or kill us…

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**And that is chapter twelve. I feel like this is one of my better chapters in this fiction. I mean my bro practically died reading this chapter due to how absurd the situation is. But I want you guys to tell me what you think of this chapter. Did you find it hilarious? Or was it just too weird? Leave a comment on the situation, it will be much appreciated.**

**In the next chapter we will be diving into the past again, so stay tune.**

**Also, how do you guys feel about me writing an in-depth guide to Sanctuary? Message me and tell me your thoughts on the subject. Thank you for your cooperation.**

**That is pretty much it. So I'll stop keeping you here with my nonsense.**

**Until next time... T1**


	13. Chapter 13

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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"After that whole incident, I fell into a depression… You loved me, and all I did was ignore you. I couldn't tell you how I really felt, we were going to be apart no matter what. I never wore my goggles more than those days after your 'death'… Everyone was worried, I stopped dueling, barely ate, barely slept… All because of my guilt… I felt your ghost stare at me with burning eyes, and I could not shake of your stare. I could not escape that feeling… The loss… The guilt… The unrequited love that you had for me…" Yuya began, pulling down his goggles. "Two months has passed but my condition hasn't improved. I still felt guilty for everything concerning you and had severe panic attacks when just your name is mentioned. The burning gaze at my back probably didn't help matters either… One day, I had enough of it… The pain was too much, I couldn't keep going on living the way I did. So found myself at my special place… The bridge that over looked the lower parts of the city with the stadium in the distance… I had weights tied to me in places that would be impossible to remove in a panic… I went over the barrier and…" Yuya continued before stopping, shaking at the recollection of this story.

From what she had read from Rose In The Hand, Yuzu remembered that Mizuki drowned herself with weights tied in impossible places. "Yuya, you didn't… Please tell me you did not do what I think you did…" Yuzu asked fearfully. "No… I couldn't… The thought of you kept me from taking that last step I wanted… When I finally got the will to get away from the edge and back over the barrier, I must have cried until I fell asleep… And when I woke up, I was in the hospital, even if wasn't physically hurt. Everyone found me and began saying every possible thing to say in this situation. I apologized, but I could feel your stare again… So this time, I took out my frustrations using dueling, something I hadn't picked up for those two months. It kind of worked, but I kept losing every match because I was lacking something…" Yuya answered before continuing the story. "What was it?" Yuzu asked. "Myself. I couldn't make people smile anymore, my Dad continued to tell me that if I could bring people happiness, that happiness would come back to me, like a pendulum. I always went with that philosophy, but that was the first time I went against it. How would my happiness come back if it is forever out of my reach? I was bitter, but I tried entertainment dueling again and I managed to make a people smile and cheer despite my more serious outlook on life." Yuya finished, taking off his goggles to dry his eyes.

"But, where does this ring come in?" Yuzu asked. "That was context, so high school and the first two years of college was pretty much me being the same. But it wasn't until my junior year things started to pick up, I fell in love with a foreign girl in my writing class. Her name was Rosa and she was everything… Smart, strong, kind, and everything in between. I pursued her with a kind of determination that you only see me with food, but she shot me down every time. But it was when I saved her being harassed by the college's football team that I earned her trust. We were first friends then things progressed steadily… We hung out more, then we dated, shared our first kiss, did some things in bed, and just… everything. We loved each other and as long as we were together, nothing could come between our happiness. We graduated, continued to date, and for once in a long time, I was happy to be alive… Then we got engaged, the ring I presented her had an engraving, 'Forever will you light my darkened sky'. I thought it was appropriate seeing that she did so much to brighten my world, and we got married complete with an over the top ceremony. After that everything was just as anyone would expect, we went on a honeymoon, had a kid, and lived in relative peace for five years… Then something happened…" Yuya continued, putting on his goggles once more.

"Your wife started to become distant… And then cheated on you…" Yuzu said, remembering the story Yuya wrote. "Exactly… I originally thought Rosa simply needed space to do her own thing… I haven't found out when I returned one night from my duels when my last opponent of the day failed to show up due to family issues. In my home, I saw evidence that someone else is here and I began carefully moving around to investigate. Then I came across the bedroom… And there was Rosa… With some other man…" Yuya continued before stopping, his whole body trembling with anxiety from the memory. Yuzu didn't say anything, she only squeezed her friend's hand to offer any comfort she could from the gesture. "As much as I wanted to stab and kill them both… I couldn't as my five year old son will be left with no parents to care for him, so I ran… Away from the truth until I could accept it… I stood there back at the bridge and I began thinking what to do… I knew I couldn't commit suicide as I would leave my son in the care of Rosa… So I decided… I would let this go on until I gather enough evidence against Rosa to file a divorce that leaves me with everything, including my son in my custody. And it worked, I won the case. But as satisfying as the victory was, I felt the loneliness take over again…" Yuya continued, feeling some strength coming back to him.

"I'm sorry that happened to you… I shouldn't have been snooping around… Is there at least a happy ending to this?" Yuzu apologized. "Life is not a fairy tale Yuzu… I fell back into a depression and left dueling for a while as I began finding a way to cope with everything bad that has happened to me. Then I found solace in writing and began making stories based on the memories in my mind, both good and bad. With certain facts jumbled around just enough to prevent anyone from associating it with me but not enough for me to forget that this has happened to me, I began writing and publishing under an alias. Since these stories will contain elements of my life, each one was different, specifically about what could have happened differently in my life. What would have happened if I chose to commit suicide after Rosa cheated on me? What would have happened if I haven't met Rosa at all? What would have happened to everyone if I chose to commit suicide when I was younger? And… What would have happened if you were still with me?" Yuya answered. "Ummm… I kind of found your books in your desk…" Yuzu admitted, now understanding what those books were. "Oh… Did you read one while I was gone?" Yuya asked as he took off his goggles. "Well… Just one… Rose In The Hand…" Yuzu answered, still a bit embarrassed at the memory. "That one was the first one I published. The memory was still fresh in my head and I wanted it out. So I wrote it, got it published, and everyone enjoyed it, even if it was a mess of depressing junk…" Yuya replied. "Did you had to write your book with such suggestive scenes in it?" Yuzu asked, face red remembering what the book was at the core.

Yuya did something Yuzu least expected, he began laughing, despite having a tidal wave of depressing memories wash over him. "What!? It's an honest question! You could have written it without those scenes!" Yuzu shouted. "It must have been a subconscious thing. I only realized that it was erotica when the publisher told me that it was very, very mature work and could not publish despite it being very good. I was lucky to have disguised myself beforehand, who knows what would have happened if word got out that a legendary duelist is a writer of lewd literature! I don't think I could show my face to the public again!" Yuya laughed loudly. "Is everything you wrote dirty and perverted!?" Yuzu asked, practically shouting over his laughter. "Only four weren't like the others. But out of the ten stories I have published, Rose In The Hand was by far the most popular. When I came here on this planet and found the documents on my duel disk, I downloaded them, printed it and presented them to an appropriate publisher, this time under the alias of Lord Thomas Kaster. Then I watched as my works spread like wild fire through Sanctuary, getting reviews from even high standing literature enthusiasts who normally wouldn't, in their right mind, be near a book in the erotica genre. It earned me quite a bit of money, some of it had paid for this condo." Yuya explained.

That alias question that Yuzu had come back up, and so she asked. "Why the name Lord Thomas Kaster? Did you make that up on the spot?" Yuzu asked. "Sort of, the Lord part is to distance me, who has the regular citizen status, into someone who has lordship to a kingdom, even if it doesn't exist. As for the Thomas Kaster part, that name popped up when I learned the British slang for ketchup, Tommy K. So the deciphering process goes… Thomas Kaster becomes Tommy K, which is tomato ketchup, which is made from tomatoes, which is what my hair resembles. It kind of makes sense." Yuya explained. "No it doesn't! I swear I think I'm getting dumber from listening to you…" Yuzu replied, burying her head into her free hand. "Just like old times… Unfortunately I never had that chance. Back to that point in the world of the living. After writing, I could only go back into dueling and nothing else happened. My son grew up, went to college, got married, had kids, and for me, I just retried and lazed about. I picked up a few of my many hobbies at this time, but sometimes I wish I had someone to share it with. Then I died and appeared here." Yuya replied, finishing his where he left off.

"Yuya could I tell you something?" Yuzu asked, facing her friend. "Sure." Yuya answered, facing his friend. Yuzu gave Yuya a kiss on the cheek, only this time Yuya wasn't embarrassed, but curious. "What was that for?" Yuya asked. "I want to say sorry, for everything. I was avoiding you, stuck with my own made up problems instead of helping you with your real ones." Yuzu answered. "Problems? I wouldn't think you had any. Is that why you ran when we first met again" Yuya commented. "Yes, it was based on the fear that you have some form of hidden anger with my decisions and you would hurt me. And if I hadn't given up that fear when you told me of your issues after what happened, that would only make that fear worse. Why would I be in the same room as you if I was still afraid is another question entirely… But it was when you genuinely wanted me to remove you from my life that I realized you didn't have any underlying emotions hiding in you. Then I wanted to connect with you again… To know what great person you have become since I left." Yuzu explained.

"Yuzu, I would never be angry with you, no matter what you do. You were only trying to protect the people you love, and I would do the same if I was in your shoes. In fact, I have something I want to tell you too..." Yuya replied. "What is it?" Yuzu asked. Yuya leaned his face closer to Yuzu and pressed his lips against hers, easing one of his wants from the gentle gesture. Yuzu took this gesture by surprise, but as the long few seconds the kiss lasted, she had found herself enjoying the gesture more than she should. Yuya broke the kiss and smiled as he looked at his friend's face. "Thank you for being here to listen to my whole story, it means a lot to me." Yuya thanked. "Then could I tell you something as well?" Yuzu asked. "Sure." Yuya answered. Yuzu pulled Yuya in closer and kissed her friend, with her kiss being more passionate. Yuya was surprised, but began enjoying every moment of it, knowing that it might be over before he knew it.

It was only after good amount of time before the two broke away. "Thank you for finding me, I wanted closure for a long time." Yuzu said, feeling all of her body getting hot. It was then the two gazed deeply into each other's eyes… Where crimson and pale cerulean were not just colors, but a window that allowed two long lost souls to see and understand the feelings of the other… It was this moment that all reasoning shut down, allowing emotions and instinct to run without control, free to do what they wish. Yuya and Yuzu pulled each other into another passionate kiss, the long unanswered questions each of them have were being answered and responded to. No words were further spoken between the two that night, allowing their actions to speak their feelings. Nothing could interrupt that night, every need they could have was satiated by the other… The night was still young… And so the two made every second of it count…

Yuto looked on from outside at the scene unfold before him. He wasn't furious to see his wife cheat on him, Yuto already knew this coming when Yuya showed up. Now Yuto needed to know that Yuya is willing to follow up on the emotions he is displaying, keeping the passion he now has for Yuzu Hiragi burning. "If that is your answer, then I accept… Be with someone who you are truly happy with…" Yuto said quietly as he got up. "This world was made so that we all could find our happy ending… And I will help you both obtain it…" Yuto thought as he leapt off into the night. And he vanished into the darkness, never to be seen by the evening lights of the Capital… Dawn is still so far away and yet no one wants it to come quickly… The lights shining in the dark night sky were too beautiful to disappear into the colors of a new dawn.

The question of love can only be answered by showing love… Then receiving it back…

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**And that is chapter 13.**

**In my Intro to Creative Writing class, my professor taught us about the difference between sentiment and sentimental. Sentimental being all the over-exaggerated emotions that play out in a scene of a work. Think of the most recent romance movie you have watched, did it contain a moment where you face palm due to how cheesy or corny it was? That would be considered sentimental.**

**So what I'm asking is, is my work so far considered sentimental? Has there been parts where you, the readers, just want to face palm yourselves? Give me a hand and I'll do my best to adjust.**

**Also for those following Arc-V, a whole lot of shit is going down and I would like to see your reactions to this series. So if you decide to leave a review, please include a response to the current events going down in Arc-V, that would be much appreciated.**

**Anyway, I kept you here long enough. Please remember to review, it is worth all the gold, _all of it_. Well then...**

**Until next time... T1**


	14. Chapter 14

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Dawn… The sign of a new beginning… For Yuya, it was just another day to deal with. But he was too comfortable in bed to deal with the morning and decided to sleep in. Yuya was cuddling with something warm, something he found oddly comforting, and something that had the faint smell of mangos and pomegranates. He never questioned what was in his arms, Yuya just couldn't because he was too damn comfortable with it. But before he sank back into the darkness of sleep, Yuya felt the something move, and it promptly raised a red flag. Who is he sleeping with? It couldn't be Yuzu because he sent her home after their talk, knowing that any sexual advance would probably lead to several lumps on his head. Or was that just denial creating a memory that would remove the truth and prevent Yuya from seeing reality? That has happened a lot before, so Yuya knew better than to trust his own memory. Yuya opened his eyes slowly to see pink, specifically pink hair. And that proved the unsure certainty running through his head correct, Yuya is in fact in the same bed with Yuzu… Naked…

"Oh no… This won't end well…" Yuya thought as he tried to get up without waking Yuzu up. But that failed and woke the girl immediately, slightly slow to what the situation currently is. "Yuya… What are you doing?" Yuzu mumbled, shifting her position as she tried to fall asleep again. Then the realization of something wrong came down like a storm of bricks, something that would catch the attention of anyone. Yuzu immediately got up and looked at herself, then Yuya before covering herself with the blankets as her face became very red. "Yuya… What did we do?" Yuzu asked, not sure if she could look at her friend. "I think it's safe to assume we had sex..." Yuya answered rather bluntly, seeing that all evidence pointed to such action. Yuzu scanned the room seeing that clothing was all over the room and Yuya's tomato like hair was in a complete mess, even if it was pretty messy to begin with. Combined with the fact that they are naked and Yuzu's back was sore, all evidence did indeed pointing to the only answer it could be, they had sex.

The two remained quiet and did not look at each other, only giving small glances before turning away again. "You know…" Yuya began, breaking the silence. "At the risk of sounding… insensitive. I enjoyed it more than I should have, it was nice." Yuya continued. Yuzu looked at him surprised and slightly disgusted. Here she had just committed adultery, putting many things on the line because of this act. Her marriage, her reputation, her peace of mind, and most importantly, her friendship with Yuya. But the more she thought about it, the more Yuzu began realizing that the issues were bothering her less and less. "Yuya, don't say that. We did a bad thing and Yuto is not going to happy with this…" Yuzu said in response, voicing whatever remorse remained. "I know, but I'm just saying I enjoyed it. But I apologize for forcing myself onto you. I don't think you got anything meaningful out of this encounter…" Yuya replied with a sad tone.

With that last statement, Yuzu felt strange and wanted to know why. As much as she didn't want to admit, Yuzu did in fact enjoy every second of their nocturnal activities. But it is that question of whether or not those acts had any meaning behind them, any feelings behind it. "I think I did get something out of it Yuya… But I'll let you know once I figure out what that is…" Yuzu mumbled, just loud enough for Yuya to hear. Before he could say anything back, Yuya's stomach answered first with a large growl that could be mistaken for animal. "I'm hungry…" Yuya said as his growling continued. "We never did eat anything last night…" Yuzu replied, thinking back to yesterday's events. "I'll make us some breakfast, you could use my shower if you want." Yuya said as he slipped into his pants. "Just make sure you wash your hands, who knows where and what you touched last night…" Yuzu replied, slightly embarrassed at the second half of her statement. "What was that?" Yuya asked as he got up, fixing his shirt. "Nothing! Just go! I'm not decent!" Yuzu yelled. "Okay, Okay, No need to shout. I'll tell you when I'm done cooking, just have a nice, relaxing bath" Yuya replied before leaving the room, closing the door behind him.

Yuzu got her clothes together and went right across the hall into the bathroom where she began bathing. All the tension on her body was being washed away by the warm water, but nothing could erase that strain in Yuzu's mind. "Yuya… Yuto… I love you both, but I don't want to hurt either of you… What should I do?" Yuzu thought.

After finishing her bath, Yuzu got dressed, straightened out her clothes, and walked out into the main room. Yuzu stopped when the smell in the air took over her senses, the scent of freshly made pancakes, eggs, other wonderful smells made her mouth water. "Yuya, what are you making…?" Yuzu asked as she walked in, stopping to see the beautifully prepared breakfast on the table. "Oh hey, did you have a nice bath? I just made the usual things, fried eggs, bacon, hash browns, and pancakes. If you wait a bit, I will be finished juicing these oranges and we can eat together. I knew I should have gotten a new juicer…" Yuya replied before grumbling about his machine's lack luster performance. "I'm beginning to think you make a better house wife than most house wives." Yuzu joked. "Well I have to take care of myself and my guests somehow." Yuya replied as he carried two glasses to the table.

Yuzu sat down before Yuya came over and did the same. Both said their thanks for the meal and began digging in, quelling the growling beast known as hunger. "This is really good Yuya, if you weren't an action duelist, you could probably be a cook." Yuzu commented before focusing back on her food. "I'm not that good, my friend's wife is a lot better than me, and there are chefs in the Capital that are other worldly, even compared to pros. I just focus on making good food that will satisfy my tastes." Yuya answered. The two only focused on eating from that point on, enjoying every ounce of food that was before them. Only when they finished that the conversation began again. "Did you enjoy it?" Yuya asked as he began piling up the plates. "Very much, I wish I could've cooked with you, I haven't done that in a long time." Yuzu replied. "I forgot you could cook, maybe next time. We could bring a few people over and have a great time." Yuya said as he carried the plates away.

But with that sentence, a specific person flashed in Yuzu's mind and soured her mood, which was something Yuya noticed. "Did I say something wrong?" Yuya asked, sitting back down. "No… I was just thinking about Yuto… What should we do about our situation?" Yuzu asked. "Well, Yuto is an understanding guy, so we tell him the truth. Simple as that." Yuya replied. "Yuto won't be so forgiving when it comes to people he cares about…" Yuzu mumbled, looking down onto the table. "Don't worry, I don't think he would be too upset with you. The guy would probably just beat me into a submission for forcing you to do what I want, but Yuto would let you off easy. Trust me, I know the guy, he is not that cold hearted." Yuya replied with reassurance. "Then we'll tell him the truth?" Yuzu asked, looking up. "The whole truth, and if he punches me for it, so be it. But first I want to visit my friends down at the Mutou Arcade, see if there is any updates in the league worth noting." Yuya replied as he got up. "Okay, but how are we going to get there without being swarmed by a mob? It took an interesting plan to get me here from that arcade." Yuzu asked, curious at what solution Yuya could do. "I think I got something…" Yuya answered, as he began to look for his duel disk. "I should've known… Try not to cause too much of a scene Yuya…" Yuzu said as she began making her way to the door. "Got it!" Yuya yelled.

"I wonder how the love birds are doing…" Judai mumbled as he continued building his house of cards. "Judai, you're going to be too curious for your own good. Also we shouldn't try to force the relationship if things turn sour, our efforts will only make the situation worse." Yusei commented, taking a sip of his coffee before looking back at his paper. "So should we give Yuya a call? Might as well see how he's doing in the morning." Yuma suggested before taking out his D-Gazer. "He should be arriving soon… Hopefully Yuya-kun will be willing to share his encounter with Yuzu-san yesterday. Could you go check the mail box Yuma - kun?" Yugi replied before Yuma left the room. That is when a loud force was heard landing above them, causing the room to shake and Judai's impressive house of cards to collapse. "NOOOOOOOOO!" Judai screamed as Yugi began opening up the rooftop access to see what it was.

Sure enough, the force came from Yuya and Yuzu riding on top of Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon. "Yuya… Please don't do that again…" Yuzu said as she and Yuya got down from the dragon. "Good job Odd-Eyes. Get some rest, you earned it." Yuya said as he deactivated his duel disk, forcing the dragon to disappear. "Yuya-kun! You just can't land on top of my arcade without the safety established! You could have fell right through the whole building!" Yugi shouted calmly. "Oh right, sorry about that. Oh, Yugi, this is Yuzu. Yuzu, this is Yugi." Yuya replied, introducing the two to each other. "We already meet Yuya…" Yuzu whispered. "What?" Yuya asked flatly. "It's a long story, now come on in, you don't want to spend all day on a roof." Yugi replied as he climbed down, allowing the other two to do the same.

Inside, Yuya and Yuzu saw Judai sulking over his fallen creation, though it didn't last long when he noticed the two. "Hey buddy! How are you doing this fine morning?" Judai asked with a wide grin on his face. "You're lucky I'm in a forgiving mood right now. But anyway, this is Yuzu, my… friend." Yuya replied, struggling to choose a good last word that doesn't provoke Judai's teasing attitude. But that didn't work as Judai pick up the choice of word, but the pause that came before it. "Just a friend you say… I know things go a bit deeper… So I would say you two are friends with…!" Judai said before being interrupted by a hit to the head. "You should really work on that teasing attitude of yours. She is a guest, and we shouldn't make her more uncomfortable than she already is." Yusei said as he put down the rolled up newspaper. "Okay, just don't hit me with that. What do they use to make newspaper now a days? Lead?" Judai asked, rubbing the back of his head. "Putting aside poorly set up slapstick skits, are there any notices for me?" Yuya asked. "Yuma checking the mailbox now. He should be back any minute now." Yusei replied.

With that, Yuma walked, with a strange note in his hand, curiously reading it. "A note?" Yugi asked. "A challenge…Addressed to Yuya." Yuma replied after reading a bit more into it. "Me!? From who?" Yuya asked as he snatched the paper and began reading it. "From a guy named Yuto. Know him?" Yuma replied. "Ummm… Yes…" Yuzu answered. "He's your husband isn't he?" Yusei asked for confirmation as he turned to Yuzu. "Yes…" Yuzu replied softly. "Voi paska! Things are getting real serious now!" Judai yelled excitedly. "I have to meet him in the Waking Peace Forest in one hour... Preferably with Yuzu and no one else..." Yuya read as he put down the note. "Is Yuto dangerous? Should we observe your duel from a distance?" Yugi asked. "No that won't work. The guy can sense you like a hungry dog with food, no point in trying to hide from him. And Yuto is not that dangerous." Yuya explained. "We will cross that bridge when we get there. Let's first get you two to Waking Peace, then the rest of us will figure something out." Yusei said before walking down the steps leading to garage.

The others followed, not knowing what to expect. But for Yuya and Yuzu, they begin to prepare for the worst case scenario... An all-out battle...

Desires are choices with great rewards and great penalties. Should we pursue these choices, it will grant us wonders beyond our imagination... But such wonders come at the price that may cost us too much...

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**And that is chapter 14.**

**This chapter is not as coherent as the others, but I hope you all are still following the plot-line quite well.**

**Things are heating up as we approach the second half of the climax, a duel between Yuya and Yuto. So stay tuned in.**

**In other news... Holy shit, Arc-V has really kicked itself into high-gear. I just can't handle the amazing that the anime puts me through, its crazy and I love it. And now Mama Sakaki is leaping into the fray to slap some sense into her son. Then we will once more be subjected to CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES as we follow Yugo and Yuzu into the Synchro Dimension. As I mentioned in the last chapter, if you leave a review, please include your reactions to the anime as I would love to see your comments on it. The fun has just begun!**

**Anyway, I kept all of you here long enough. So...  
**

**Until next time... T1**


	15. Chapter 15

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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Waking Peace Forest... A blissful location where everyone can explore with no worries. But Yuya and Yuzu are not here for a hike, they are here to meet with the man that could determine their relationship. Whether they will remain friends, explore their blooming feelings, or simply leaving their bonds to die are choices determined by one who had already suffered many tragedies. After a bit of exploring, Yuya and Yuzu found themselves in a large clearing, with no other person in sight. At first hesitant, the two looked at each other and gave a nod before taking that confidant step with their best foot forward. They were approaching the clearing's center until they stopped to see a dark haired man emerge from the other end of the clearing. There he was, Yuto...

"Glad you could make it out here on a moment's notice, Sakaki Yuya..." Yuto said in a serious tone. "You're not really someone I could avoid for too long. You know where to find me even if I ran off somewhere." Yuya answered back. "You are no coward Yuya, and I commend you for that. But you will find no mercy from me after what you've done." Yuto replied before activating his duel disk. "Yuzu, stand back, this is going to get dangerous." Yuya said as he activated his own duel disk. "Yuya... Yuto... Do you two really have to fight?" Yuzu asked. "Unfortunately so... I cannot allow you to get hurt from someone you obviously feel conflicted over." Yuto answered. "This is between us Yuzu. Don't worry, everything will be okay." Yuya replied. "Show me how much you have changed. Let's go!" Yuto yelled. "Duel!" The two shouted.

Pulling five cards from the top of their decks, Yuya saw that he drew a bad hand right from the start. "Oh no..." Yuya thought as he began planning what to do. "I'll go first. I summon Phantom Knights: Tattered Cloak in attack mode." Yuto said as a ghostly form rose from the ground. "I then activate the Magic Card, Curse from the Armory. I can special summon one Phantom Knights monster from my hand, deck, or graveyard and equip this card to that monster. But during each of my standby phases, I take half of the equipped monster's attack as damage. I special summon Phantom Knights: Ruined Gauntlets from my deck in attack mode." Yuto continued before an armored form rose from the earth. "I then activate Ruined Gauntlet's monster effect. If this card was special summoned, one monster on my field gains a level. I raise Tattered Cloak's level to five and I overlay my two level five monsters." Yuto continued before the two monsters danced in a swirl of dark light.

"Weathered armor upon the ancient battlefield... Raise your arms once more against tyranny... And cleave through the infinite darkness! Xyz summon! Rank Five, Phantom Knights: Rusted Axe!" Yuto shouted as a single armed, armored phantom rose from the ground. "I set two cards and I end my turn." Yuto finished. "My turn! Draw!" Yuya yelled, pulling a card from the top of his deck. After seeing it was one of his magician cards, he began setting up to weather the oncoming attack. "I activate the magic card Masks of the Performer. This special summons four Persona tokens on my field, each with 1500 attack and zero defense. These can only be in attack mode and cannot change positions. I set a card face down and I end my turn." Yuya said as four masks appeared in front of him. "My turn, draw! I activate Rusted Axe's monster effect. Using both overlay units, I can normal summon any monster under level eight without any tributes. I summon the level seven Phantom Knights: Faded Greaves from my hand. I then activate the continuous magic card Disastrous Return to Battle. I target one monster from my graveyard, special summon it to the field, and increase its level by two. However, for each of my standby phases, my life points will be halved and the targeted monster's monster effect is negated. If this card leaves the field, the targeted card also leaves and vice versa. I special summon Ruined Gauntlets in defense mode. Yuya, get ready, things are going to get rough." Yuto said, both of his ghostly armor appearing on the field.

"I overlay the level seven Ruined Gauntlets and Faded Greaves. Honored warrior of the Heavens… Strike down the creeping darkness before you… And lead our endeavors to victory! Xyz summon! Rank seven, Sacred Arms: Lance, the Exalted One!" Yuto yelled before a monster in shining armor descended from the sky. "What is that?" Yuya asked, completely in awe at the majesty of the monster. "I found a few new cards to put into my deck, but enough small talk. I activate Lance, The Exalted One's monster effect. Once per turn, I can use an overlay unit to destroy all monsters on my opponent's field that has less than 2000 attack. For each destroyed monster, 400 points of damage will be inflicted to my opponent. However, this monster will lose the same amount of attack for every monster destroyed until the end of my turn. Go! Clear Yuya's field of those masks! Absolute Retribution!" Yuto yelled as lightning came crashing down around Yuya. The masks were instantly obliterated but one bolt of lightning crashed with such force, Yuya was sent flying into the trees behind him. Yuya's Life Points: 2400. "Yuya!" Yuzu shouted with worry as she saw her friend crash into a tree trunk. "I'm fine…" Yuya groaned, getting up from the grassy ground. "You won't be after I'm done with you. Rusted Axe has 2400 attack points and Lance now has 1200 attack. Receive Rusted Axe's attack, and the battle will be over. I attack Yuya directly with both Rusted Axe and Lance." Yuto said coldly before the single armed armor readied its weapon.

The two armors moved towards Yuya, readying to attack their opponent. "Yuto! Please stop! Yuya's going to get hurt!" Yuzu yelled. "I'm sorry, but he asked for this. Forgive me…" Yuto replied. The armors raised its weapon and before anyone could react, the strike was brought down upon Yuya, splitting the tree behind him and kicking up a cloud of dirt and dust into the air. "No… Yuya!" Yuzu shouted. Yuto remained silent, observing the dust cloud for anything and readying his duel disk to call for emergency medical services. That is when he saw a silhouette leaning on the axe head, rather calm and relaxed. When the dust settled, Yuto saw that is was Yuya, completely unharmed and is acting rather casual for someone who almost got cut in two. "Hey buddy… You missed." Yuya commented with a friendly smirk. "I can see that. You activated your face down and got out of the way at the last second. But Lance's attack still made it through." Yuto replied calmly. Yuya's Life Points: 1200. "Well, at least I'm still in the game. The card was the trap card, Entermate Call. I negate a direct attack, Specifically Rusted Axe's, and add one or two Entermates from my deck to my hand. But the combined defense points of those two monsters cannot exceed the attack of the monster that declared the direct attack. Rusted Axe has 2400 attack, so from my deck I choose… Entermate Whip Viper and Entermate Drumming Kong." Yuya said as he added the two cards to his hand. "Then I end my turn. At this moment, Lance's attack returns to normal." Yuto said as his monsters moved back to his field.

"My turn! Dra…!" Yuya yelled before being interrupted by a hit in the head. "Ow… Yuzu, what was that for?" Yuya asked as he rubbed his head. Yuzu responded that question by slapping the tomato head before hugging him. "You idiot… I thought you were dead…" Yuzu said, holding back her tears. "Oh… I'm sorry…" Yuya replied, returning the hug. "I know it's the way you duel… But please stop making me worry so much." Yuzu whispered. "I'll try okay? Will you let me continue?" Yuya asked, breaking the hug. Yuzu didn't say anything, she simply stepped aside to allow the duel to continue. "Sorry about that. Let's get back to where we were. I draw!" Yuya said before drawing the top card. After seeing what it was, Yuya immediately began smiling. "Prove to me that you still are the maker of miracles, Sakaki Yuya." Yuto said with a smirk. "Of course. After all, the fun has just begun!" Yuya shouted with a smile.

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**That is all there is to chapter fifteen. **

**Like before, tell me if something about the duel doesn't add up and I'll try to fix it as soon as I can.**

**I'll keep this part brief this time as I really don't have anything important to say. Just leave me a review if you are feeling up to it. It would be much appreciated. Again, if you do leave a review, please include your reactions to Arc-V as I would love to see your thoughts on the subject.**

**Anyway, I kept all of you here long enough. So...  
**

**Until next time... T1**


	16. Chapter 16

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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"I set the pendulum scales with the scale one Stargazer Magician and the scale eight Timegazer Magician." Yuya said as he set the two magician cards to the ends off his duel disk. And so the magicians, one in black and the other in white, rose from the ground in their own pillars of light before the field. "Now I can summon any number of monsters between levels two and seven from my hand at the same time. Swing, pendulum of the soul! Draw an arc of light across the ether! Pendulum Summon! Come forth! My Monsters! First up is the wise king of the jungle, Entermate Drumming Kong. Next is the delightful serpent of the sands, Entermate Whip Viper. And now for the star of the show! Make way for the dragon with beautiful, dichromatic eyes, Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya yelled as his monster appeared in a flash of light. "I activate my trap card, Reactive Overlaying! When my opponent special summons, I target one monster in my graveyard whose level is four or lower, Xyz summon a monster whose rank equals to the target's level, and attach this card as an overlay. I choose the level four Tattered Cloak, meaning I will summon a Rank Four monster." Yuto said as dark clouds began filling the sky.

"With Reactive Overlaying, I construct the overlay network. Formed from pitch-black darkness, to fight those foolish enough to oppose its treacherous fangs. Descend now! Xyz summon! Rank four, Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon!" Yuto yelled before his own dragon appeared before the field. "Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon… Glad he's still doing well." Yuya commented. "Of course. But let me continue… I activate Tattered Cloak's monster effect. When a Xyz monster is summoned onto my field and its rank is four or lower, I can attach this card to the summoned monster as an overlay. I can only use this effect once and only once." Yuto said as a second orb of light began circling the dark dragon. "It's still your turn, show me what you got." Yuto said as he relaxed his stance. "Okay, I activate the magic card Stage Fright. If my monster with the highest attack is greater than your monster with the lowest attack, return that monster to the deck. However, my own monster would be returned to the deck if its attack is not higher than any of my opponent's monsters. Rusted Axe's attack is lower than Odd Eyes' attack. So may I ask him to leave the stage?" Yuya said. "Rusted Axe is a Xyz monster thus it returns to the extra deck instead." Yuto replied as the armor faded from the field. "Now let's move on to the main event. I attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon!" Yuya yelled as the red dragon began trotting forward.

"Both dragons have 2500 attack... What are you plotting?" Yuto asked, suspicious of such an action. "Then let me introduce you to Drumming Kong's monster effect! Once per turn, when one of my monsters battle another monster, my monster gains 600 attack until the end of the damage step. Odd Eyes' attack is now 3100, well over Dark Rebellion's. Go Odd Eye's! Spiral Strike Burst!" Yuya yelled as his dragon unleashed its crimson breath. "I activate my Trap! Xyz Decoy! When a Xyz monster I control is targeted for an attack while I control another Xyz monster, the target for the attack is changed to the other monster. Also, if that monster still has overlay units, it is transferred to the original target of the attack. Lance! Protect the heart of the rebellion!" Yuto yelled.

Before the flame touched Yuto's Dragon, the dragon's shape changed to that of Lance and took the attack. Yuto's Life Points: 3700. "Well… There's not much I can do now so… I set a card and I end my turn." Yuya said, allowing the match to go on. "My turn, draw! I activate Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon's monster effect. I use an overlay to halve one monster whose level is five or higher and increase Dark Rebellion's by the same amount. These changes last until the end of my turn. My first target is Drumming Kong! Treason Discharge!" Yuto yelled as field of electricity surrounded the gorilla. "I use another two overlay and target Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon! Treason Discharge!" Yuto continued before another field of electricity surrounded Odd Eyes. "Dark Rebellion has 5175 Attack… If he attacks now… Yuya! Be careful!" Yuzu warned. "Don't worry, I got this!" Yuya replied. "I attack Odd Eyes Pendulum Dragon with Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon! Treasonous Lightning… Disobey!" Yuto yelled as the black dragon dashed towards its crimson counterpart at frightening speed. "I activate Entermate Whip Viper's monster effect! Once per turn, I can switch my opponent's monster's current attack and defense until the end of the turn. Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon now has lower attack than Odd Eye's, will continue with your attack?" Yuya asked.

"I activate the quick play magic, Over-Stimulation! If my monster battles another monster with higher attack, my monster gains 1500 attack but loses 3000 until my next turn. Dark Rebellion! Continue your assault!" Yuto yelled.

In a flash, the dark dragon destroyed Odd Eyes, forcing Yuya into a critical position. Yuya's Life Points: 200. "I activate Faded Greaves' monster effect. If I destroyed a monster whose level is six or higher and this card is in the graveyard, I banish this monster and draw a card. I set one card face down and I end my turn." Yuto said. "At this moment Whip Viper's effect ends. And Over-Stimulation's other effect activates. Dark Rebellion now has zero attack, now is my chance! My turn, draw!" Yuya yelled. "I attack Dark Rebellion Xyz Dragon with Drumming Kong!" Yuya commanded as his monster destroyed the weakened dragon. Yuto's Life Points: 2100. "Now for the finisher…!" Yuya continued before being interrupted.

"I activate my trap card, Tears of the Separated. When a monster I special summoned is destroyed, this card will be treated as a monster with zero attack and defense and the destroyed monster will be attached as an overlay." Yuto interrupted as a disembodied shape emerged. "But that won't stop my attack!" Yuya yelled. "Any battle damage involving this card is negated. However, if this card is destroyed while it still has overlays, both players will lose 500 life points times the number of overlays on this card. Now, will you continue?" Yuto explained. "I will, here we go! Whip Viper! Attack that trap!" Yuya answered as the snake sprang forward. "Yuya!?" Yuzu said in shock. With a quick lunge, the snake damaged the shape and caused it to explode violently. "Then both of us will take 500 damage and you lose!" Yuto shouted. Yuto's Life points: 1600. "I don't think so! I activate the quick-play magic, Smiles of the Reunited! If my life points is 500 or lower, I negate all effect damage!" Yuya yelled. "Yuya… This is it… End it…" Yuto said as he lowered his arm. "Of course… Odd Eyes! Let's go!" Yuya yelled as he leaped onto his dragon.

With a charge, the dragon swung its head at Yuto, surely a fatal blow… But it didn't connect as the dragon missed and continue to trot away from Yuto. "What?" Yuto thought before noticing that Yuya was no longer riding his dragon. Upon turning around, Yuto saw Yuya flying towards him. And in that split second… A punch was thrown… Yuto's Life points: 0…

Duel over. Winner… Sakaki Yuya…

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**And that is chapter sixteen**

**Don't have much to say this week so...**

**Until next time... T1**


	17. Chapter 17

**Definite OOC at the end of this chapter.**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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A gentle, silent breeze passes through the forest of Waking Peace… Everything is undisturbed… Just fields of green leaves with their branches swaying in the wind… A single blemish can be spotted in a single clearing of the forest… While tame, a battle had been waged in this location… A battle where resolves were tested against the other… In the end, one emerged victorious…

"Ugh…" Yuto moaned as the world spun underneath him. "Yuto! Yuya! He's waking up!" A voice yelled. "Where am I? Yuto groaned as he sat up. "Oh God! I gave him amnesia!" Yuya yelled. "Yuya, calm down. Yuto, are you okay?" Yuzu asked. "Other than the throbbing headache and ruptured eardrums, I'm just fine." Yuto answered. "Dude, I'm sorry for punching you across the face. Tensions were high and I had a need to finish things spectacularly. So I just want to apologize." Yuya apologized. "Well I did send you flying into the trees, so I'll consider that pay back. So I lost…" Yuto replied as he lied back down onto the grass. "Both of you put up a really good fight. But you two didn't really need to hurt each other as much as you did." Yuzu commented. "It was a test. And Yuya passed." Yuto replied. "A test?" Yuzu asked. "Yes… But now I want to talk to you about something… It concerns us…" Yuto said calmly. "Should I be here? I mean I can leave if you two need some space to…" Yuya asked. "It's better if you stayed here…" Yuto answered.

"Yuto… I have always been wondering why you have been trying to nudge me towards Yuya… Do you feel the same way as me?" Yuzu asked. "Yes… Both of us lost so much after that battle… I lost my best friends to war… You were separated from your friends forever… It made life after the war that much harder to recover from… Looking back, we drifted closer knowing we suffered the same kind of pain. The pain of loneliness…" Yuto answered. "Yuya… When you left, I didn't know what to do. Heartland, it was so much different than what I was used to. I was a stranger in that world and I didn't have anyone to turn to. I was fortunate to at least to know one familiar face, but other than that, I was lost." Yuzu continued. "We leaned on each other for support. I didn't know when, but we began to draw closer and closer. At the time, I was glad to have someone by my side. But looking back, I never had any sort of attachment to Yuzu." Yuto continued.

"The relationship we had was more of a physical relationship than anything else. Both of us tried to replace someone we loved with a look-a-like, but it worked as well as you expected… Yuto looks like you Yuya… But he could never replace the one thing I loved about you… It was shallow for me to think that I could just replace you, Yuya…" Yuzu mumbled. "Even if both of us weren't feeling any sort of connection, we stayed together, afraid of being alone again… We lived our empty life and died together but wound up here together as well. We stuck together and traveled along the roads before settling down in one of the kingdoms. However we were distant, even more so when were alive and only made small interactions each day. When I knew you were here, I wanted Yuzu to finally go back to you, go back to the happiness she was forced to leave behind." Yuto continued.

"And then this whole thing… I was scared of you Yuya. I was afraid you might lash out at me for doing something you surely wouldn't like. I never wanted to leave my shell to try to talk to you, I just wanted to run away as long as I could. I thought I could keep running, using my sudden stardom to help me avoid you… But…" Yuzu said nervously. "Then all of this happened… Yuya… Do you know why I wanted to duel?" Yuto asked. "I know… The way you dueled… You wanted to make sure I could protect Yuzu. But are you two sure you want to go your separate ways? After everything you two been through together?" Yuya asked. "Yuya, it's nice of you to think about us. But, the relationship never went anywhere. Yuto and I were never satisfied with our arrangements." Yuzu answered. "I promised Yuzu to help when she had found her answer. And I am sure that both of us would be much happier if we were not together." Yuto said as he got up. "What will you be doing now?" Yuzu asked. "First, I am resigning as the head of security. I don't want to make things more complicated than it already is. Second, I'll just be wandering Sanctuary, see if I can find my own friends again." Yuto replied. "I'm sure you will. I mean, I found you guys." Yuya answered.

"Will we see you again?" Yuzu asked. "Who knows? But I'm sure we will at one point." Yuto answered. "Then thank you for everything, Yuto. Please take care of yourself." Yuzu thanked giving the man a hug. "Give us a call if you need anything." Yuya added as Yuzu broke her hug. "Take good care of her Yuya. She's been through a lot and I don't want you to do more harm than good." Yuto replied. "Don't worry, I already caused enough grief to Yuzu throughout this whole venture, I don't think I am capable of doing any more damage." Yuya said with reassurance. "Don't jinx it Yuya… I don't want to start worrying over nothing…" Yuzu said with a sigh. "Both of you came a long way... I don't think anything will separate you two now that you have reunited… But enough of my senseless prattle, it's time I left…" Yuto said as he began walking. "Keep in touch okay!" Yuzu yelled.

And with that, Yuto disappeared into the depths of the forest, leaving Yuya and Yuzu alone in the clearing. "Do you think we should've convinced him to stay?" Yuzu asked. "Yuto has his own journey to complete, he first wanted to help you finish yours." Yuya answered. "I suppose… But what do we do now?" Yuzu replied. "I don't know… But I hope to at least make up for all the lost time between us…" Yuya answered. "I would like that… I missed being with you…" Yuzu agreed. "Then can I ask you something Yuzu? I know I haven't given you a chance before… And I really don't deserve this from you but… Do you want to go out with me?" Yuya asked nervously. "I think you know my answer…" Yuzu replied, moving closer to Yuya.

A gentle kiss was placed onto Yuya's lips, which was then returned by one with equal tenderness. "Yuzu… Thank you for giving me another chance…" Yuya whispered, pulling back the kiss as he hugged Yuzu. "Idiot… I'll always give you another chance…" Yuzu whispered back. There the two stood as another breeze blew by, allowing Yuya to notice how long and beautiful Yuzu's hair was. "I never noticed how long your hair was…" Yuya commented as he began playing around with a few strands. "I let it grow out. Do you want me to cut it?" Yuzu asked. "No, no, it looks great on you. I'm just surprised. It was so much shorter when we were young and alive…" Yuya replied, remembering the past. "Those days are behind us Yuya… We have a whole future to look forward to… Let's enjoy what we missed all these years…" Yuzu said warmly.

Yuya placed a gentle kiss on the girl's cheek and began whispering into her ear. "Yuzu… I love you…" "I love you too…" Yuzu whispered back. "I know this is going to kill the mood... But you know my friends are watching us right?" Yuya whispered. "They are not very subtle are they?" Yuzu asked quietly. "Yusei, yes. The others… Not so much. It's such a shame too, there was something I really wanted for us to do here alone…" Yuya mumbled. "Us!? Alone!? Here!? What's going through that head of yours!?" Yuzu asked, shocked as she broke away from Yuya, face becaming red with embarrassment. Unlike the days he spent oblivious to love and everything associated with it, Yuya immediately picked up the signs and his own face turned a shade redder. "Wait! I did not mean it like that!" Yuya yelled frantically. "And what were you supposed to mean!?" Yuzu asked loudly, face still red like a tomato. "Yuzu… You know the duel we had? We never finished it." Yuya answered, calming down to elaborate. "Oh… Well… We can finish it now." Yuzu replied.

With a simple smile from Yuya, the two moved into position, distancing themselves several feet. "Let me tell you something… Just because we're together doesn't mean I'll hold back Yuya." Yuzu said, duel disk placed upon her arm. "I don't expect you to, after all it won't be very exciting if one of us just plays submissively." Yuya replied. "Oh… Now I really want to know what's going through that head of yours. Reveal what little kinks lie behind those red eyes of yours…" Yuzu said with a mischievous smile. "Getting feisty aren't we? Well, feel free to cut loose Yuzu, all other eyes have left… Leaving the stage to ourselves…" Yuya replied, returning the smile. "How nice of them, remind me to thank them after we're done." Yuzu commented. "They have done a lot, in fact they started this whole chain of events. We owe this all to them. But we will cross that bridge when we get there… For now there is this." Yuya replied. "Shall we begin?" Yuzu asked. "It's show time!" Yuya yelled.

DUEL!

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**And that is chapter seventeen.**

**I will admit, these past three, four chapters haven't been the best in terms of quality. I kind of wrote the ending before this chapter and the last two, three chapters, so that is why it's not as good. But what are your thoughts on this chapter? If you decide to answer, please leave your current thoughts on ARC-V as well, I am interested in reading your reactions to the show.**

**Not much else to say here, so...**

**Until next time... T1**


	18. Chapter 18

**Possible(?) OOC in this chapter.  
**

**Note: I do not own anything other than the world that this story takes place in. All characters belong to their rightful owners.**

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It has been two weeks since the battle with Yuto and much of life has returned to normal. Only difference is that now Yuzu and Yuya are officially together, imagine the press when they heard that two celebrities are dating. Luckily for most of the time, Yuya and Yuzu are able to escape the mob because Yugi, Judai, Yusei, and Yuma cut them off or gave them a lift when they needed it the most. There were times that Yuya and Yuzu was able to get away on their own, usually involving their Duel Monsters in a variety of new ways they never thought possible. But today is one of the more lax days, allowing the group to be a little more relaxed while still keeping an eye out for the unexpected.

"You know... I think I'm getting sick of eating burritos everyday..." Yuma commented as he looked at his food with disgust. "Hey, they're free! And anything free tastes delicious!" Judai said, taking a bite of a burrito before his face began expressing nausea. "Okay... Free doesn't taste so good anymore..." Judai grumbled before drinking some water. "Are you two sure we aren't a third wheel or anything?" Yugi asked, directing his question to the couple across from him. "No, it's fine. After all, misery loves... Wait, wrong metaphor..." Yuya began before stopping. "Yuya, just eat your food..." Yuzu commented. "Even so, if we are making both of you uncomfortable, just say the word and we'll leave." Yusei replied. "As much as Judai is probably going to make things awkward, I enjoy you guys being with us from time to time. Makes everything much more... Welcoming?" Yuya said, confused to what word he should use. "Anything for you buddy. So are you guys getting married anytime soon?" Yuma asked.

Yuya and Yuzu looked at each other before answering, a light blush forming on the two's faces. "Well... We aren't exactly jumping the shark just yet. We're going to take things slow and experience the things we missed before." Yuzu replied, slightly embarrased by the question. "Yeah, there is a lot of things we still have to catch up on too. So I wouldn't rush into marriage just yet." Yuya added. "Take your time you two. You earned your right to live a happy life, so enjoy every minute of it." Yusei replied. "We will. Thank you Yusei." Yuya thanked. "Quick question you two..." Judai said as Yuya and Yuzu looked at him. "Did you two have sex yet?" Judai asked casually.

Yuma began choking and coughing up food bits the moment those words were spoken out. Yusei, face in the palm of his hand, began shaking his head in shame at such a question. "Judai!" Yugi yelled. "What!? It's an honest question!" Judai replied. "Care to explain why?" Yusei asked. "Look, there is nothing wrong with having a healthy sex drive. In fact, I know a few relationships that failed because of a poor drive. I'm just getting an idea where their relationship is right now so we, as friends, can help them when something goes wrong." Judai explained. " That makes sense... I think..." Yuma mumbled before drinking some water. "Well there you go. So have you two..." Judai began, only to stop upon seeing Yuya and Yuzu's reactions.

The two weren't looking at each other or anyone else. Yuzu was looking at an arbitrary spot on the ground while Yuya was looking out the window, whistling an awkward tune. Both of their faces were redder than the red half of Yuya's hair, and that is all Judai needs to determine what happened. "Oh, I see what happened… Now I'm wondering just how you managed to get into her pants..." Judai said before he began thinking with a sly grin on his face. "Ummm... Yusei... I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable right now..." Yuya said, face still red from the question. "I can understand why..." Yusei replied, eyes looking at the still pondering Judai. "I think we out stayed our welcome..." Yuma said as he got up. "I agree... Let's go before Judai-kun does something else." Yugi agreed as he got up. "Wait! Hold on I haven't finished eating!" Judai yelled before being grabbed and dragged away by Yusei and Yuma. "That's what you get for asking the wrong questions." Yusei replied. "Don't worry, there will be plenty of beans for you to eat back at HQ." Yuma added. "Not the beans! You'll never take me alive! Never! Never!" Judai yelled as the four left the building.

After a few minutes of settling the awkward tension down, Yuya began talking again. "Hey listen... Do you want to go for a walk?" Yuya asked, still embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "Sure..." Yuzu said as the two got up. "Are you going to do what I think you are going to do?" Yuzu asked as the two left the building. "Depends, if no one bothers us, we can finally have an enjoyable walk together. Just you, me, and that rapidly... Approaching... Mob..." Yuya replied before seeing a whole horde of people sprinting their way. "Yuya..." Yuzu said, getting ready to jump. "I know..." Yuya grumbled as he pulled out his duel disk. And so, the Capital gets to see once more a dragon play in traffic as it tries to lose a horde of fanatic individuals.

Yuya and Yuzu finally lost the crowd, but only after two hours of pursuit that they managed to accomplish that. "I can't believe we got away..." Yuzu said before throwing herself on a bench. "I told you Odd-Eyes could jump across rush hour traffic..." Yuya replied, sitting next to her in the process. "I know, but I'm still trying come down from the adrenaline high..." Yuzu said, still trying to calm down. "Just like old times huh?" Yuya asked. "Just like old times... I'm glad you found me Yuya." Yuzu replied. "And I'm glad you found me. Things are really more enjoyable with you around." Yuya said in response before the two clasped hands. "I always wished things would be like this back then... It's nice..." Yuzu commented, moving her body closer to Yuya before resting her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes I wish that too, but I wouldn't change anything for the world. I got to grow up in so many ways I never thought imaginable. Though it's a shame we're not going to have any kids..." Yuya replied. "It's okay, we don't need kids to prove we love each other. In fact, it could be more fun..." Yuzu said as she gave Yuya a seductive look. "Wow... Umm... Feeling slightly turned on and awkward right now Yuzu..." Yuya commented, eyes looking around to see if anyone is watching.

Yuzu gave her lover a kiss on the check before resting her head again, content with just being with Yuya. "You've really loosened up since when we were kids. I remember you hit me every time I did something outrageous or something you didn't like. " Yuya commented. "I'm sorry if it hurt. I just didn't know how to deal with my emotions back then. But everything is better now, you're here and that's all that matters." Yuzu apologized. "Apology accepted. I love you Yuzu..." Yuya said. "I love you too Yuya..." Yuzu replied, raising her head. The two looked at each other, eyes filled with warmth as their faces moved closer to the other. Eyes of crimson and pale cerulean closed as their lips meet together in a passionate kiss. The long search for the other was over... After many trials... After many internal conflicts... Here these two are... Holding each other as the world finally gave them what many searches for...

A happy end...

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**And that, is the end to Longing Reunion. We came a long way since the first post in January. From the highs to the lows, we have made it through this fan work. This may not be the best Arc-V fiction, but I hope that you, dear readers, consider it good enough to return to one day. As for me, this has been a great learning experience. Anyway, please leave a review about the whole story, it's worth ALL the gold, all of it. Also, if you leave a review, include your reactions to the events occurring in Arc-V, I am interested in reading just what you guys think of the show.**

**In other news, I have posted two new Fan Fictions titled "Fan Fictioner's Guide to Sanctuary" and "Skaia HS: Senior Year". The first is the official guide to Sanctuary, the world that existed in me and my bro's head. And hopefully with the release of this work, others could enjoy that world as well. This guide will expand upon all those little facts that I included in the earlier chapters of Longing Reunion, and add new ones that I could not condense into small paragraphs. The other is a fan fiction about the webcomic Homestuck, and whether or not you are familiar with it, please give it a chance.**

**That is everything I have to say. So...**

**Until next time... T1**


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